


6 Devils........And An English Teacher?

by Elishaje



Category: bap
Genre: Comedy, Other, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 13:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 33,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8891863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elishaje/pseuds/Elishaje
Summary: You are an English teacher who just got asked to teach 6 guys who want to practice their Business English in the evenings. That's all you know. How you ended up in a classroom with a pyromaniac, a tattooed killer, a gun freak, a pro gamer, a cheesecake hitman......and a teddy bear sweater........well? Let the adventures begin!!!This is a short series of one-shots VERY INSPIRED by one of my favorite groups comeback, B.A.P. and their recently released M/V for Skydive aka One Shot meets L.A. Noire. In this short story, the boys all retain a mix of their real personalities plue the ones they portray in their mini movie. This story takes place during the music video, after Daehyun finds his gf dead and during/after the shootout.When the boys speak in colors, I am not making them sound stupid-EVERYONE sounds like that when they are speaking English the first time. For Korean Native Speakers, they don't have articles and other lexical points so I deliberately left those out when they are speaking English. They are only beginners, you know:)





	1. The Proposition

A WEEK BEFORE THE SEMESTER BEGINS, 6:42 PM  
It was a long day, and you were tired, but satisfied. As the head English director at your school you had just finished a rousing pep rally with the new teachers and old, introducing the new curriculum and implements that you were sure would work in the new year. You smiled in satifaction; everything was going smoothly.

You are sitting in your office when your supervisor and the school's director, Mr. Choi walks in.

"Aaah, sunsengnim(teacher in Korean)," you begin to say, but the older man kindly waves it off, "Don't worry about formalities-I actually want to discuss something off the books with you."

Your curiosity is immediately piqued as your director places three things on your desk: an expensive looking velvet box, an opened letter, and a.........Rabbit Sticker?

"I received this message in my box today. Please, have a look."

Doing as you were told, you opened the letter and it read as follows:

To Whom It May Concern,  
We have heard about your school and the wonderful English lessons you offer there. We are interested in learning English so that we may participate in international affairs.  
As we understand, you are a kindergarten,middle, and high school specialty school. We understand that this will have to be an evening course, and we are asking one or more of your teachers to stay later than their normal time. We accept full responsibility of our actions, and are willing to pay handsomely. Here is our tuition fee. This is for the first 6 -8 weeks, a test drive, if you will.  
We look forward to working with you.  
Sincerely Yours,  
The Matoki.

You look at Mr Choi, who nods in the direction of the bag. Reaching for the material, and admiring the soft fabric underneath your tired fingertips, you open the box-

-only to drop it in surprise, as roughly 100,000,000\\(A/N:about a million USD) looked back at you, the large banknotes reflected in your lamp light.

"Whoa..." was all you could say as Mr. Choi nodded, "It's an interesting offer.....and I wanted to know if you were up to the challenge." You thought long and hard.....

 

"......Sure, this could be fun. Let's put this money away for the school. I want to meet my pupils first."


	2. Introductions,Part I

THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS, 7:50 PM

You stood in the classroom, feeling tired from your day kids but also excited about your new evening class.

On your teacher's desk you brought homemade cupcakes, drinks(non-alcholic, of course), fried chicken from the local place, and apple slices. You felt a little silly with the fruit, but just decided, What the hell, I'm a kids teacher, I'm sure they'll understand the fruit.

You were also nervous about the language barrier that might occur. As a native English speaker, you always had a Teacher's Assistant in your classroom to help you smooth things over when the children didn't understand a grammar point or focus of your lesson. With these new students, it would just be you.

Also, you laughed to yourself as you realized that all of your fun things were still up in the classroom. Pictures of field trips, multiplication tables, weird stick drawings and clay figures dotted the room, as well as your Christmas lights around the ceiling.

As you were pondering what to do with the various Digimon, Pokemon, Doraemon and Pororo stickers on your whiteboard the door opened to your left......

.......And your heart beatboxed as 6 men, 6 dangerous men walked into the room.

The first guy that walked in looked like he stepped straight off a runway and into your classroom. Neat black hair with neat forehead bangs, a biker jacket with dark pants and a long sleeved shirt underneath, he looked at you with sharp eyes. You felt them search your soul before they swept over the room quickly, but somehow you felt like you passed a test.

The next one was the tallest one easily in the room, as he was far too skinny and lanky to blend in with the others. He looked to be walking the fine line of boy and man, with a 'comma' type haircut and a royal blue sweater that brushed over his black jeans right above the knees when he walked. You had the sudden, insane urge to feed this guy as he looked around curiously. There was a grace about him that you envied immediately as he nodded in your direction before moving into the room completely-

-Only to make room for someone who was easily the streetpunk version of the Batman's Joker to stroll in. Blue hair, tattoos everywhere, a slim, small frame.Beauty mark on his nose, sleepy looking, cunning eyes. Dark, ripped clothes that were sure to throw off bigger people, hiding lean muscles for days.... You remembered your manners at the last minute and managed to smile pleasantly, but that guy......his smirk told you that he knew that you knew that he knew. 

The next two to walk in were the most normal looking people in the group. One had on a long tan, detective's coat that looked almost too big for him, with a white shirt and jeans on underneath it. Brown hair right above intelligent russet eyes, in his hand he tossed a gadget up and down lightly as he smiled, the apples in his face raising smoothly as you two made eye contact. The other guy was in a shorter, sepia jacket with a tan shirt underneath it. He was tanner than all of the others you'd seen so far, and his eyes were by far the most bright you'd seen in a while. He smiled as well, but you caught a glimpse of something sharp moving in his pocket before he stepped away-

-and from the shadow of the doorway, in stepped...........a teddy bear sweater. And cool, charismatic eyes.


	3. Introductions,Part II

Your breath caught in your throat as the teddy bear sweater moved to reveal a hand holding a lighter, then the rest of his body appeared. Skinny like the rest, that sudden urge to feed him came back as the man(this one was definitely older than some of the others in the room) nodded at you and allowed his eyes to crinkle in a friendly sort of way.

You came to your senses as Teddy Bear Man quietly closed the door behind him, "Ah~Hello!!" You quickly bowed and came back up smiling," My name is _______. Pleased to meet you."

All of the men bowed back politely, and the tallest one began speaking in such a fast bit of Korean that you held up your hands, "Whoa!!!!Easy there, please-my Korean is not so good. Korean,"you started to speak in the little that you knew, "not so good.Please speak slowly." 

You jumped as everyone laughed-but it was a pleasant laugh, as the tallest guy tried again, this time in easy English, "Ah, teacher, my name is Junhong, but Zelo is okay." You looked at him with gratitude, as with his accent and clear,high voice you could've easily passed him off as a Westerner. Zelo laughed at the look on your face as you shook his hand, 

"Welcome, Zelo-ah!!!"

With that, some of the tension left the room as the first guy who stepped into the room introduced himself in a surprisingly low, husky tone,"I am Himchan. It is a........pleajure to meet."

"PleaSURE, hyung(A/N: older brother), and to meet YOU," the one holding the gadget(you later found out that it was a video game type thing), stepped up with a warmer tone, 

"Youngjae here. Thanks for having us." The tanned one that came in with him offered a shy smile as he tilted his head to the side, "You are pretty!!Ah, that was rude. I am Daehyun!!!" You couldn't help but laugh at his loud charming voice as Himchan muttered something in Korean and hit him upside the head as he went and took a seat.

But of course, the one that you wouldn't like to meet in a dark alley slid up to you and peered directly into your face, his sleepy eyes now alert. Determined to not let him smell your fear, you stared back,puffing out your chest a little as you used your height to your advantage. He suddenly grinned and jumped back,"I like this one. Smells.........nice." He leaned into your neck and took a gentle whiff, catching you off guard and speaking directly into your ear,"Jongup.You won't forget me."

Before you could breathe, Teddy Bear man moved, and everyone shut up as he snatched Jongup away from you before saying something in Korean-and it shook you because while Himchan's voice was low, Teddy Bear's voice came from the basement of his very soul. "I am.........sorry.He gets......this way. I am Yongguk.It is nice......to meet you. Thank you."

You waved it off, acting like you didn't just have a mini-heart attack, "It is okay. Please," you gestured to your desk, "Let's Eat Together!!!I have brought food to share!!!"


	4. Day 18, Daehyun's Engagement

For being scary at first, you and your students quickly got into fun times as you found creative ways to keep them interested in English without overwhelming them too much. You immediately picked up on a few things as the first week went by in a blur:

Yongguk was the unspoken leader and peacekeeper of the group. You could see it in the way he moved and spoke to the younger ones, and even Jongup respected him. Himchan was the second in command, and where Yongguk was calm, he was passionate-he was kind but also stricter on the younger men when one got too far out of line.

Daehyun was a cheerful boy, and a moodmaker of his friends, but he occasionally slipped into a dark silence, making you wonder what happed to him in his past.......Youngjae was some sort of technological whiz, up to date with all of the latest thingies and whoozits and electronics the world had to offer.

Jongup was dangerous, but clever as well-he was also a talented dancer, as you found out randomly when you saw him dancing to hiphop one day during a break. Zelo was a jack-of-all-trade: he could do anything he set his mind to, and he loved anything that involved speed, such as skateboarding and underground rap.

As Zelo had the better English, he explained to you that they were businessmen wanting to 'move up', and English was their gate, which you could appreciate.

There were some tense moments where there was a disagreement and you knew that there was past drama as the men would look at each other before cooling down by some unspoken creed......That was until this day.....

"Okay, so for this grammar point, we must practice between basic present tense and past tense," you had your back to your pupils as you drew a rough chart on the board, writing 'present' on the top left side and 'past' on the top right hand side. The Matoki, as you had come to call them collectively, watched you closely as you brought up two pictures on the screen.

The first picture was a recent picture of you from Christmas, wearing nice formal clothing. Immediately there were calls and whistles of appreciation from Jongup and Zelo, and although you rolled your eyes, you still smiled in appreciation as you used your pointer, "Let's use our prior knowledge. What do you see here?"

"I see you, sunsengnim. It is Christmas time........a happy time."

"Thank you Yongguk," you put a star next to his name on the board. Although they were all men, it came as a surprise in the first week when they saw you awarding them for anytime they spoke English, but the flames of competition grew, and now they jumped at the chance to impress you with anything they learned and could repeat back to you. Who knew?

"There is a fire........erm.....fire pit!!!And other people!!!" Zelo supplied, and you laughed and placed a star next to his name as well. The tallest man leaned back, pleased as Himchan muttered what sounded suspiciously like teacher's pet in Korean from the back of the classroom. You turned on him, smiling disarmingly, "Himchan? What do you have to say?"

The man slunk down in his chair some, but he cleared his throat, "Ummm........there is food. A lot of food. And drinks."

"There is 13 cakes!!!"

"There ARE 13 cakes, Daehyun-ah. Only you and food."

You laughed, adding stars to Himchan, Daehyun, and Youngjae's names,"But let's look at what I am wearing. What do I have on?"

There was a moment of silence, and surprisingly Jongup spoke up from the back-and to your dismay, he was cleaning off a bloody knife with a rag on his desk!!!

"You are wearing a dress. It no match you." Himchan quickly reached over from his desk and slapped away the knife, quickly mutttering something in Korean as Zelo looked at you with worried eyes. You quickly turn around and wrote a star next to Jongup's name, trying your best to not let them notice your shaking hand as you say, "That is correct. I am wearing a dress."

Clearing your throat and clicking to the next slide, which was you as a baby, you let out a pale smile as you try to push out thoughts of he'sgonnakillme and iwontsleepforweeksbecauseofthis and focused back on your lesson, "Now~am I wearing my dress?"

There were answering sounds of no's as you smile and write in the columns on the board, "Correct, so what we can say here is this: In present tense, I have a dress; in the past tense, I had a diaper."

The men quickly caught on, and soon you had everyone playing musical chairs. Using their competitiveness to your advantage, you divided them up into 2 teams: Yongguk,Jongup, and Youngjae vs Himchan,Zelo, and Daehyun Surprisingly, everyone had a soft spot for Disney songs, and as they moved around the chairs to Hercules "Zero to Hero" you had them sit down and make sentences with the new tenses they learned. The combinations were hilarious:

"Everyday I eat rice, but yesterday I ate souls!!!"

"One day I swam in the Nile, next I swim in the Amazon!!!"

"I sang soul once,I can sing country next."

As the chairs were eliminated one by one, you were busy being DJ, photographer, and points keeper as they kept going well:

"Today I run to Busan-before I ran to Seoul!!!"

"I can steal cars, yesterday I stole puppies!!!"

Finally, it was down to the last chair. Everyone was sweaty and breathless, but laughing and smiling, and you were pleased as Daehyun and Jongup stared each other down over the last chair. You played the song, and they went, but it was Jongup who got the chair at the last second. The knife temporarily forgotten, you high-fived both DH and JU as you said to Jongup, "Let's hear your sentence, please!!!"

Jongup looked at you slowly, then to Daehyun slowly, and then, with a smile, he said words that sent a chill through you:

 

"Yesterday Daehyun's girl was alive. Now, she is dead."

Everyone froze as the proverbial pin hit the floor, and before anyone could move a hand shot out past your face and Jongup was on the floor, giggling and now sporting a bloody lip as Daehyun pulled back to strike again. "Daehyun, NO!!"

Hell broke loose as Jongup stood up and Daehyun pounced on him-

-Zelo stepped in and tried to grab Jongup, as Youngjae did the same for Daehyun, but the former was now into the fray and the latter didn't care who he was hitting-

-Himchan put himself between you and the brawl as Yongguk took your arm and pulled you back to him as a chair went flying-

-and you stepped away from Yongguk and yelled to the top of your lungs, "EVERYBODY FREEZE THE FUCK UP!!!"

Everyone stopped as you slammed your heaviest science book to the floor, causing a good slam as you brought your point home. You don't know who you did it, but somewhere inside your teacher commandeer spirit came out, "Jongup-over there!!!!" You pointed, and Zelo shoved him towards that wall, while Youngjae led Daehyun to the other corner.

You quietly took in a deep breath, as Himchan looked at them both with murderous eyes and Yongguk quietly asked if you were alright. "I'm fine."

The eldest man looked to the floor,"We.......are out now, yes?No more class?"

You looked at him in surprise, "What are you talking about?"

Yongguk unfolded a piece of paper from his book and held it out to you. Reading it, you held back an insane urge to chuckle as you realize that you were holding the disciplinary creed that Mr Choi makes all of your kindergarten students-as in, your 4 and 5-year-old boys- sign at the beginning of the year. On on this paper, the men had signed their names.

Himchan came over and pointed to Rule 17, which stated that if there was a fight, both students would be removed from the class and ALL friendly parties to both students would be removed as well. As if on divine cue, two security officers came hustling to your classroom door, slightly out of breath, "Ah-noona sunsengnim, we heard your yell and figured you were in.......trouble....." The officers took a good look around the room at the overturned tables, broken chair, blood on Jongup's face, and of all things-

-The soundtrack was still going in the background, and Mulan's "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" was going in the background.

"........"

"........................."

-The younger security guard's hand itched for his taser on his hip-

-Himchan's eyes caught this small but firm movement and his own hand reached slowly for something in his own jacket that you didn't want to even THINK about-

-suddenly you laughed and stepped forward, "I am so sorry about that, officers. We were re-enacting a scene from Mulan and we got a little carried away in the spirit of things. We were having too much fun, you see."

Zelo's head whipped towards you in confusion; you knew that he was understanding what you were saying, but he didn't understand why you were saying it.

You came over to the door, smiling charmingly, "You know~that one war scene in the snow?It gets me everytime, and these guys are the same."

You held your breath as the guards looked at each other-

-and then the older one laughed as well, "Yeah-I know!!!That one with the cannons and fire arrows-the avalanche was the best part!!!" You made small chatter for a little while longer before bidding the guards a goodnight.

Turning back around, you were met by 4 unbelieving stares(Jongup was examining his jaw, and Daehyun was glaring death daggers his way), but Zelo quickly translated what you just did in Korean, and now the tallest boy looked at you, "Sunsengnim......why? Why did you lie?"

You shrugged, not sure of the answer yourself, "I don't know. I guess I am big on second chances." I also wanna know what the FUCK that was about, you shouted that last bit in your head, though.

You quickly straightened up, "Jongup, apologize." Jongup only looked at you, and you shook your head, "You hurt Daehyun, so apologize." You marched over to Daehyun and spun him around so that they were both facing each other, "You apologize too, for throwing the first punch." They glared at each other, until you said in your best Korean, "Do it, or I will make you kiss in front of the director."

This threat was so absurd that Youngjae actually laughed and Himchan broke out into a small smile, and finally they muttered half-assed apologies to each other. You clap your hands together, pleased, "Good. You," You handed a broom to Jongup, "Start sweeping over there, and you," you went to the mini-fridge by your desk and pulled out an ice pack,   
"Sit down here a moment." Wrapping it in a Ziploc bag, you pressed it gently to Daehyun's eye-you noticed a growing bruise from earlier. 

He hissed, but after awhile leaned into your touch, his breath warming your hand as Yongguk began flipping the chairs and things back into place while Zelo and Himchan wiped up blood. Youngjae fixed your papers neatly while Jongup did his duty well, under the smoldering eyes of both Himchan and Yongguk-both men's eyes promised something sinister for the blue-haired devil later, but not in front of you-you didn't know this...

"Okay, we have about 20 minutes left-let's complete this worksheet, then we are back at it tomorrow," you smile as everyone was now back in their seats and working diligently as though nothing happened, although Daehyun was now wearing the icepack on his face, courtesy of you taking off your blazer and tying it to his face like a Russian grandmother.

After checking everyone's work, you bowed as everyone walked out slowly-Himchan having a firm hand on Jongup's neck as he wished you goodnight, Yongguk thanked you quietly as Zelo and Youngjae offered to carry your things to your car.

"I will do it." Daehyun picked up your things as he hung back, letting everyone go, and you smiled at him as you locked up for the night and grabbed your keys, walking out to the parking lot, feeling unexplicably a lot safer as Daehyun walked next to you, quietly and in his own thoughts.

You open up the trunk and he laid everything down neatly, meticulously. He looked at his feet, and you waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts. Your patience was rewarded as he looked at you with pained eyes, "Why? Why you do this?Why......help me?I should......be gone."

You leaned against your driver's door and shrugged, "I think you're alright, and in your defense, he started it. It was a dishonorable thing to do and I don't like rude people-," Daehyun tilted his head to the side in cute confusion, and you laughed as you realize that THIS English was too much for him to follow, so you quickly tried to switch over, "Ahh, Jongup....hurt you......bad.Dishonor. You, honor maybe. Like Mulan.I believe in you.Teacher's here to help." 

Daehyun looked at you for all of 30 seconds-

-before throwing his head back and laughing into the purple evening sky. It was a bright, pleasant sound that you liked to hear. Taking your hand in his own, he said, "I.......get you. Thank you.I.........won't fall again!!!"

He stuck out his pinky, and you laughed as he made a pinky promise with you.

His stomach suddenly growled, and you laughed as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I just watched you eat like 2 hours ago-how are you hungry now?"

Trying to find the right words, Daehyun gestured helplessly, "........Hmm, I......digest....quickly!!!I'm always hungry!!!!" You laughed as he patted his stomach vigorously at the end, and suddenly Daehyun smiled so wide, his eyes became crescent moons, "I have......an idea!!!I will treat you!!!!Follow me, please!!!"

You tried to wave him off, but he wouldn't have it, "I will drive first, you follow!!!"

You sighed, What the hell, I don't have anything to do this evening, and nodded-causing Daehyun to smile and run to his own car, a silver S-Class Ferrari.

He pulled out first, and you followed him out of the parking lot and onto the highway. After a while, the scenery changed, and you noticed that you were driving into one of the richer parts of the city-causing you to feel a little out of place as he pulled over and parked in front of a rich-looking restaurant, standing next to your car as you got out, "This way!!!"  
You followed DH up a spiraling staircase to a set of double doors that were opened by two sharp looking men in blue and yellow suits, who bowed as you walked by, "Welcome back, Mr. Jung." You two walked past staff and even other patrons, who bowed deeply as you were escorted to a table with a stellar view of the whole city.

You definitely felt out of place as you said to Daehyun, "........You must come here a lot.Everyone knows you."

Daehyun laughed as the menu was set down in front of you both, along with juice, tea, and coffee, "Of course-I.......... sponsor this chain."

Your jaw dropped as you said, ".....Chain?" Daehyun smiled, "Yes.......there are....18 so far. They make great chicken here. Please, get anything.......... you'd like-I'll pay."

You closed the menu, laughing, "You know what, I'll let you take control here-surprise me."

The look Daehyun gave you was as if Christmas came early-

-and he waved over the waiter and said something in his Busan accent that you didn't catch-

-but there was no need, as within moments, platters upon platters of food appeared. There was chicken of about 5 different types, kimchi soup, gimbap, rice, salads, roasted peanuts and legumes, as well as wine, and Daehyun smiled at the look on your face,"I....have done right, yes?"

You could only nod as the smells were amazing, and Daehyun handed you spoon and chopsticks, "Please-let's get started!!!"

As you ate, Daehyun entertained you with stories of his childhood, making you smile a bit as he let you into a bit of his world-granted, there were moments where his accent came out and you had to ask him to say a particular bit in standard Korean-you didn't mean it offensively, you just couldn't keep up, "I'm sorry, Daehyun-I promise to learn enough Korean to be able to listen in any dialect!!"

You two pinky promised again, causing Daehyun to laugh as he said in standard Korean, "It's alright, noona sunsengnim-the others were the same when we met for the first time." 

You were surprised-this was the first time that any of the Matoki had mentioned when they met each other-

-swallowing as you remembered the statement that caused the fight, you asked gently, "How so?"

Daehyun chewed a bit before swallowing, "Well, Junhong-ah and I are from different provinces. We were brought in together by Yongguk hyung, who had heard of our talents and called us in for help on a....certain project he had in mind. When we first got here-our accents were so strong that Himchan hyung actually paid for a tutor to meet with us to re-learn standard Korean," you leaned back, a bit surprised that Himchan went that far, but Daehyun quickly understood your facial expression, "It wasn't that bad-we only met him for about 5 weeks, and then we were cleared for work."

You nodded, as you ate your food, thinking about what circumstance brought such men together, but you stored that away for another time as Daehyun stirred the conversation to music.......

As the meal ended, you and Daehyun stepped outside into the night, where you looked up at the stars and sighed before turning to him, smiling, "Thank you for that wonderful meal!!!"Daehyun bowed, "Thank you....for my second chance!!!" in such a cute English accent that you laughed hard.

Looking down the street, you sighed as you saw all of the boutiques, stores ,and cafes around you, "Gosh, this is really a rich area," your eyes fell upon a massive white bakery with a display of wondrous cakes, desserts, and other delicacies," Oh wow, even though I just ate, seeing those, I want to eat all over again!!"

You crossed the street and looked at the scrumptious pies, tarts, and sweets carefully arranged to perfection-Daehyun came over and stood next to you, and togehter,with your noses pressed against the glass, you oohed and aahed together before looking at each other and laughing, "Gosh-we're like children."

Coming around and looking at the door, you saw a sign in Hangul that you could barely read, "Hmmm... 'ring'........'set date'..'Free Samples'........" Daehyun came over and read the sign, then looked at you, "Noona-it says we........ can't go in, without, ummmmm," Daehyun pointed to his ring finger, and immediately you got it, "Oh- we've got to be engaged to go in?!Wow, not fair!!!"

Daehyun saw your face fall, then looked at the cakes, then to your face again. An glint appeared in his eyes as he said, "Noona........will you be my wife?In the name........... of cake?" You looked at him, and he knelt and took off a ring from his hand and slid it onto your finger-causing you to laugh hard as you said, "Aaah-of course I accept!!!!For cake!!!"

Linking your arms with him, you two walked proudly into the store whilst holding back the giggles as best you could; the chef there thought you guys were lovely together-

-she allowed you to not only sample what was out on display, but her own personal recipes-

-vanilla,chocolate,buttercream,angel's cake,devil's passion, marble, mint chocolate-

-your eyes literally rolled to the back of your head in sensory delight as Daehyun moaned, "These are sooooo good."

The chef and her staff were charmed by the Busan man and his foreign fiancee-

-you were asked to take pictures and pose cutely for advertisment, which you gladly did in exchange for more cake, of course-

-The chef laughed as you two waddled out the door an hour later, "Thank you for coming-congratulations on your engagement, and please call us for catering!!"

Daehyun called back, "Oh-we sure will!!!" Causing the both of you to laugh hard as you walked back to your cars. You handed Daehyun back his ring and leaned against your driver's door, "Oh my goodness, I don't even think my seatbelt can fit now," Daehyun smiled, "I think I'm........almost full now."

You gaped as he laughed at your face,"How.........? I'm so jealous!!!!" 

Daehyun smiled at you with warm as he said, "This was fun, noona-sunsengnim-or should I say.......yeobo?" You winked, "Aaaah~jagiya!!!"

You two laughed as you said your goodnights-

Seeing you get into your car, he waved as you drove away first.....

The next day in the morning, as you got ready for 5-year-old math, one of your students, a cutie named Arthur, came running in, "Sunsengnim-sunsengnim!!!!Come look!!!"

He tugs on one of your hands with his chubby ones, and, laughing ,you allow yourself to be pulled away to your room.

Entering the room you notice a small crowd of kids chattering excitedly as they surround your desk-

-and your eyes fall upon a double-stacked marble cake, complete with rich chocolate frosting and gold trimming. Your jaw dropped as you know that this cake came from the bakery you were at last night-and you knew that this brand was particularly expensive.

Next to the cake was a gray rose, and tied to it was a note. The kids 'oohed' and 'aahed' and whispers of 'teacher's got an angel' circled the room as you read the note:  
_______________________  
This is for you and your children, yeobo. Not the rose, I mean, you can try to eat that too, but it won't end well, trust me, I tried :)  
Thank you. See you tonight.  
Sincerely Yours,  
Daehyun  
P.S.-The chef called to ask what day is the wedding......what should I tell her?


	5. Day 43, Himchan's Beat

You sat in the cafeteria with your friends and coworkers, chatting away happily as you ate your meals. Your day classes and evening class was going smoothly, and you found yourself looking for more and more ways to keep the men entertained while you maintained an optimistic attitude for your children during the day.

Today, the hot topic of discussion was Grandparents Day. Each teacher was given the slightly pressuring task of organizing their kids into making a performance that they thought the Korean grandparents would enjoy. Each performance would be put on in front of the school, and at the end of the show, the grandparents would vote on which class was the best. There would be prizes for first, second, and third place.

You fiddled your chopsticks as you looked into your plate of kimchi. You had an idea for a musical performance of some sort, with traditional instruments that would appeal to the older generation. You were elated when the music teacher brought the drums and things to your classroom, but now that you thought about it- you'd never played a traditional instrument a day in your life. Shit.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................  
The evening class came in, and as everyone found their seats, Himchan went to the back of your classroom as you set up your grammar books and ran a hand over the skin of one of the drums, looking at it thoughtfully.

You saw him staring off into the distance as he petted the drum in appreciation, and you were curious, coming and stepping next to him slowly, "Himchan? You......know how to play one of these?"

Himchan closed his eyes, and when he looked at you, you could tell he was looking right through you-he was in some far-off memory as he said in his low tone,"Yes..........at big events. In front of my family and friends. We dress up. My sister and I used to play, before I-" Himchan quickly shook his head and turned away from you, going to his seat, and you couldn't help but follow him,"...........I am sure you both play well."

Fortunately, Youngjae was there to help, "Hyung is the best!!!!Musical genius in the rhythm!!!!" Everyone laughed as Himchan was playfully slapped on the shoulder by the tech whiz, and it was though the light above your head grew brighter and there were angels singing the "Hallelujah" chorus somewhere nearby.

You quickly came and knelt by Himchan's desk, and he looked at you in surprise as you grabbed one of his calloused hands, "Oh, Himchan, please-I need your help!!!!" You went over to your desk and picked up one of the extra bilingual Korean/English newsletters you sent home with the kids earlier that day, and handed it to him-Zelo stood up and read over HC's shoulder as you started talking fast, "We have a performance in about 2 and a half weeks and I decided on doing a traditional performance but I have NO FREAKING IDEA on how to play this what says to even do a full dance-"

Himchan held up his hands in the universal 'STAAAAAAHP' as Yongguk laughed, and even Jongup smirked as Daehyun leaned back in his chair, smiling, "Hyung........you help teacher, and the kids. Do it!!!!For Kids!!!!"

Zelo pounded on Himchan's desk playfully in a beat, "Do it.Do it.Do it.Do it. DO IT~" Until finally Himchan held up his hands in surrender," Okay. I will help you, show you some things-?!"  
You didn't hear the rest as you threw your arms around the man and hugged him tightly, to the point where you felt his heartbeat against your own chest as you screamed in joy,   
"Ohhhh~Thank you, Himchan-thank you, oppa!!!"

This brought a round of laughter from everyone as Himchan blushed and you let go of him, beaming at the modest man. Recently, in a family dialog in the evening class, you learned that you were a little older than Yongguk, technically making you all the men's noona, but you also knew that Korean men loved being called oppa -it was part of the charm.

"Okay-please come before class in the evening if you have time, and show me a few pointers. I won't let you down!!!" You saluted in a weird way, but everyone continued to laugh at you as you skipped to the front of the class and opened your teacher's binder, "But let's get back to work!!!!Today's lesson: how to order food when dining with your boss!!!"

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................  
And just like any famous montage from an action movie, your dull life went from boring to fantastic within a matter of days. Within 2 weeks, you had a full schedule: 9-4 with the regular kids, drum practice from 6-7 with Himchan, and then 8-9:30 English class with the Matoki. During music class in the day, you would take what you learned the night before and show in to your kids in the morning, carefully repeating the actions and beats that you learned from Himchan.

The one-on-one lessons were nothing short of interesting, as well. Himchan may be a force to be reckoned with when the other men were around, but when it was just you two alone, he was a lot softer and kinder than you expected. He showed you how to hold the drum so that the skinhead reverberated at the correct angle, how to alternate between strong and weak rhythms, and your personal favorite-syncopated beats, adding an element of rap to the traditional sounds.

You also learned during this process that Himchan was VERY fond of coffee, so each day you paid him with smiles and Americano drinks, which he accepted in a cute manner.  
"Repeat after me, please. Boom-boom-CLAP-ba-boomboomboom-CLAP."

You did as you were told, and he was pleased as you added your own little spin in the end, twirling and catching a drumstick in passing. You struck a pose, "Yeah-wazzup homie, I am down!!Ready to rock, yo-ya naw what I'm sayin?!"

Himchan looked at you trying to be gangster(and failing miserably) and he laughed, dropping his drumsticks and holding his sides as you watched in surprise.

This was the first time you'd heard Himchan laugh and it was more than a chuckle-it was a full on, oh-my-gosh-I-can't-breathe, I'm-gonna-pee-myself sort of laugh. Himchan literally wiped a tear away as you laughed with him.

After a while of laughing hard, wheezing, and gasping for air, the man patted you on the shoulder, "Very good. Impressive. You have made my heart warm." You hugged him again,"Thank you for this~"

To your surprise, this time Himchan shyly returned the hug as you felt warm muscles encircle your waist for a minute in a squeeze before he pulled back, slightly blushing.

The night before the performance was dress rehearsal-you were cutting it close as you ran into your evening class, still wearing the traditional hanbok that you would be wearing the next day. You were excited to feel the light material,bright colors and long skirt around your body, but after 2 hours of spinning, dancing, yelling out instructions to kids and the likes-you were tired.

To top it off, your Korean teachers had to figure out your ethnic hair-even though it was already in braids and didn't need anything extra, they insisted on pinning it back the traditional way, so now you had about 17 bobby pins stabbing your scalp everytime to you took a deep breath to speak. Glancing at the clock, you had a mini heart attack as it cheerfully flashed back 8pm to you, I'm gonna be late!!!! 

The clock read 8:08 as you dashed into your classroom, running all the way from two floors down to try and get to the room on time.

The men were already there,doing various things-Daehyun was eating,Youngjae was playing on his phone, Zelo and Yongguk were writing something down together, Jongup was having a stare-off with Himchan-

-but as soon as you burst through the door, all eyes were on you and jaws dropped as you huffed and adjusted your headpiece frustratedly, "Gosh-this damn thing is cutting off my circulation." 

You froze as you now realized that you were the center of attention, in a room of men-and that you weren't wearing your actual bra because it interfered with the belt support around your waist.

You blushed all the way to your toes as Youngjae stood up slowly and the cookie that Daehyun was eating fell to the floor in his shock, "Ah~I am sorry, guys, I running a little late and I got here as fast as I could but it was hard with this damn skirt and-"

"Noona-sunsengnim, you are beautiful."

You were sure your heart stopped as Yongguk said those words with clear conviction, his cave voice rumbling in the room, and as you looked around slowly, Zelo nodded cheerfully and Youngjae sneakily took a picture of you. You blushed and put some of your braids back, trying not to look shocked as you stuttered,"R-really?"  
Himchan was the first to move towards you. Reaching behind you, he carefully began to pull out pins from every which way-you sighed in relief as immediately some tension left your head, and he smiled, "Really. I.....like you in this. You and our culture.....are good...together."

Daehyun picked up his cookie and some pins that had fallen to the floor, "This is.....some kind of,torture weapon?" Everyone laughed as you shook the handful of pins in his face, "No-this is called being a girl."

After class, you invited them all to the performance the next day, "Please come- it will be exciting if even some of you can see my kids in action."  
Jongup folded his arms and winked at you, "If I come it won't be for the kids-it will be for you," He spoke in Korean, but although he said it charmingly, you still felt a chill at your back as Zelo not-so-discreetly stepped on Jongup's toe through his boots......

Yongguk stepped forward, flicking his lighter,murmuring, "We have........different meetings.....in the morning.But,we.....will try our best........to come."  
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................  
It was the day of the big performance, and as you peeked through the heavy red curtains you could see the auditorium seats being filled rapidly by ushers trying to herd the masses in an orderly fashion.

There was excitement and tension in the air-kids were getting light makeup done as they chattered away excitedly to each other, and the teachers were no different:

"My own mother is coming in from out of town to watch this!!"

"What lipstick should I wear? My husband is in the back and I want him to notice me, and no other!!!"

"I heard that Mr. Choi invited the press~what to do, what to do!!!"

You chatted with some of the tech ninjas manning the sound booth, trying to calm your own heartbeat down as you kept looking at the audience from the shadows-you didn't think that the Matoki would show up in conspicuous clothing, but even so Jongup's hair could be seen for miles. You didn't see them anywhere, and your heart had a weird pinch as the stage lights came down, Maybe.....their meeting ran longer than expected?

There were two groups performing a play before your class was supposed to go on. As you got your children to line up quietly in the wings to get on stage, you noticed in the back of the theater the door open and two figures quietly slip in through the back and sitting down in the shadows. They were far enough so that you couldn't see their faces, but no time for that-

-as your music started, you took a deep breath and marched your kids out to perform, you thought of nothing else but your rhythm, the kids, the smiling grandparents, and the music possessing your body....

.................The show ended to tumultuous applause, when every class coming out on stage and getting a standing ovation as everyone stood up and clapepd like seals. Mr Choi came out and made a closing speech as the grandparents voted on their ballots, and you noticed the two shadowy figures from before go through the back door again.

The results would be revealed in the morning-but for now, there were many,MANY pictures to be taken, cheers to be done as the show was over. Grandparents wanted to meet their grandchild's favorite teacher and cheeks were pinched, your face hurt from smiling so much as you high-fived/hugged every one, and as you returned to your dressing room backstage and turned on the lights-you gasped.

There were the two dark figures from before standing in your room!!!Wearing hoodies with the hoods pulled over their faces completely and dark clothes, they were even more threatening up close and personal. You quickly scanned the room for a weapon, but the closest thing you had to defend yourself was the drumsticks you just happened to be holding still. 

You opened your mouth and took a step back towards the door when the first one quickly stepped forward, "Wait-it's us, sunsengnim."   
Himchan quickly revealed himself as you let out a sigh of relief, and Youngjae revealed himself as well, grinning and holding a very expensive looking video recorder, 

"Sunsengnim, you were great!!!!I record....for the others, to watch later!!!!You.......definitely first place!!!!"

Himchan smiled as he said apologetically, "We came late......but, we didn't miss......the star, of the show."

The man allowed a small smirk to pass over his face as he stepped closer and tapped against your drumsticks with his fingertips,"You........... remembered everything I showed you............well done,sunsengnim."

You blushed at his praise, and Youngjae quickly got the moment on camera as Himchan fixed your ever-falling hanbok and,with his onyx eyes softening with emotion, touched his forehead to yours briefly.

You conveniently forgot how to breathe as the tip of his nose gently pressed,stopped and passed over yours twice as he smiled at you-

-But then a soft shuttering sound and a bright flash completely brushed the moment away, and you both turned to see a cackling Youngjae. Himchan growled and dropped something as he began to chase the younger man around the room, "Do you want to die?!Yah-get back here!!!!!"

Reaching down, you picked up the piece of paper and realized it was a rough but gorgeous sketch of you and the kids, dancing on stage underneath the lights. The sketch was fresh-there was still a smear of charcoal here and there-but the emotions in the picture brought the image into full color in your mind. You recognized Himchan's signature in the bottom of the page, and you smiled to yourself as Youngjae was finally caught by a tossed pillow from Himchan, "I will have my revenge!!!!"


	6. Day 72, Curiosity And Youngjae

Now, the days were starting to go by quickly as you and the school approached Chuseok(A/N: The Korean version of Thanksgiving, happens early September each year). The summer gave way to fall without a fight-on Monday, you were wearing a skirt and blouse;by Thursday you were in knee high boots and a scarf. 

The kids were excited as the temperature began to recede; Chuseok was a 9-day break and you could hear them chattering away with each other on where/what they were doing.

"We're gonna go to the countryside to see Gramma and my cousins!!!"

"Nah, that's too far for us-we are staying right here, while Uncle Minseok and Aunt Soyoung will come to us this time."

You sat back at your desk, lost in thought. Hmm, what should I do for my break? 

Your thoughts drifted to your evening class, and unconciously a small smile came to your face as you reflected on good times with them. They must have family they will go and see, too.

Your smile went away as you thought about all the times that personal topics, such as family and jobs came up in class. Of course, it was impolite to discuss these things with older students unless absolutely necessary-however, you couldn't help but notice that Youngjae or Zelo would tactfully turn the conversation in the classroom to other trivial matters, or the pain that flashed over Himchan's and Daehyun's faces when you briefly mentioned family and marriage in one session.

Yongguk would just close his eyes and not answer any of your questions directly, choosing instead to flick his beloved lighter and talk about something abstract, and you hadn't found a way of talking to Jongup directly without getting that same shudder down your spine, even when he smiled at you. Occasionally, you could see the hilt of his knife when he stretched out casually in his chair, and it plain out gave you the creeps to your soul....

.....However, Mama didn't raise no quitter.

Zelo might have called himself and his compatriots 'international businessmen' but you weren't stupid-there was much, MUCH more than that beneath the surface.

'International businessmen' didn't walk around with weapons and sinister glances at night. 'International businessmen' didn't,offhand, study deadly forms of martial arts, such as throwing knives or Krav Maga at night for FUN(you discovered this about the Matoki on your lesson entitled Hobbies-boy, wasn't that an interesting night class).

'IBM' didn't have looks of pain and PTSD whenever you moved too fast in the classroom (You accidentally dropped a pen by Zelo's chair two nights ago, and you bent down quickly to get it. Zelo not only jumped up into a defense position, but he had his hand going onto his pocket before he realized what he was doing, looking at you apologetically before sitting down quickly and fiddling with his nose piercing. Himchan ended up getting the pen for you as you walked back to your desk slowly,scared for your life.).

'IBM' also didn't make a point of protecting you each night as you walked to your car after work. (It randomly started with Daehyun first, and then as the days went by a different man would be leaning against your car as you walked out to your car after work. The first night you walked out and saw Jongup, squatting low to the ground,twirling his knife and looking at your rear bumper sitckers with interest, you thought you were dead-he'd finally come to harvest your organs and sell them off. But the lean guy merely smiled and saluted you mockingly as you drove off, peeling rubber and asphalt as you went.)

You clapped, startling your Teacher's Assistant as you made up your mind.

I'm gonna get to the bottom of my evening class's story. By the end of my vacation, I will know what the Matoki do in their real time jobs.

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

You sat with your fingers together as the evening class came to a close. You decided to let them go a little early, as the weather forecast predicted that the temperature would drop exponentially by 9pm that night, due to a cold front.

"Okay guys, you are doing well, remember that we have a test coming up on Peaceful Negotiations next week Tuesday. We will be reviewing until then."

Everyone nodded as your eyes passed over the classroom.

You don't know where this sudden streak of courage came from, but it hit you like a football tackle as you watched Daehyun furrow his brows, trying to answer a question on his worksheet: I'm gonna trail them, one by one. But who should I trail first?

Granted, this was dangerous and very,VERY stupid idea(in your detective daydream, you shuddered as for some reason Jongup caught you each and everytime you followed him, with a sinister smile each time you reimagined it), you weren't exactly a Mary Sue or a damsel in distress. You were a lot bigger than half the Korean population and knew a few self defense techniques of your own, thanks to growing up in a city back home.

Your eyes passed on everyone closely, hmmmmmmm, until your eyes landed on Youngjae's form,busily scribbling away on the last few bits of his worksheet, and the lightbulb went off above your head. Youngjae!!!

It occured to you that Youngjae was one of the better students. He was normally the first one to grab harder grammar points first, followed closely by Yongguk and Zelo. When it came to puzzles, you constantly had to refer to American Google pages to get challenges for him- he even beat everyone in chess, on your games night a week ago. 

He was also one of the only ones in the classroom you hadn't actually seen with a weapon. Occasionally, he'd pull out his phone or tablet to mess around with something, but it was just electronics. Daehyun and the others fondly called him 'brain', 'smart stuff','chubby geek' and other variations of smartness, so Youngjae just had that 'cool nerd' image in your head.

For some unkown logic, you reasoned in your head that Youngjae would be the first, and possibly, the safest one to follow, so you put your plan in action........

.......As everyone turned in their worksheets and bid you goodnight, you waved cheerfully until you could no longer see them from your window. As usual, you straightened up and locked up well, sliding on your jacket and carrying your purse out to the car.

This night, ironically, was your target-Youngjae. 

He was standing in the light by your car, looking like the Korean version of Inspector Gadget with his signature tan jacket on and holding his phone, "Hello, sunsengnim."

You smiled at him,"See anything I should be worried about? Ninjas? Ghost? Possessive ex-boyfriend?"

The tech wiz only laughed and shook his head as you placed your bag on your passenger side, "Not tonight-have a good drive home."

You smiled at him," Thank you, Youngjae," you patted his arm and climbed in. Starting the ignition and pulling out slowly, you waved to him and rounded the first corner , going down a few miles until you were absolutely SURE he couldn't see you, then you turned off your headlights and waited.

Sure enough, about 10 minutes after your 'departure', Youngjae pulled out in his dark Jaguar Prowl and set off on a course down the road. You, of course, watching too many detective shows and action dramas, set your headlights back on from your hiding spot and pulled out after him, cruising at a farther distance, taking no chances.

You felt a ridiculous thrill of excitement as you realized that Youngjae was leading you back into town- At least I know the city, if I should get lost or anything like that. Youngjae pulled up suddenly at a convenience store, where you watched him stroll in, and come back out with some kind of meat on a stick, eating and filling up his cheeks in a cute way that you couldn't help but laugh aloud-and then you ducked, thinking that your noise gave you away.

Counting to 5, you came back up just in time to pull out after him again. This time, he drove and pulled up at a 24-hour PC cafe. You rolled your eyes, Of all the nights to not do something interesting, Youngjae-ah.....

You were about to go home in defeat after he parked and went in, but in the corner of your eye you saw two men in dark sunglasses nod to each other and follow him in after a while. @#$&!! You quickly parked and hid your purse on the floor, taking out your pepper spray and brass knuckles and a little bit of cash before locking up.

Dear Jesus-or anyone listening at this moment-please, don't let anything go down tonight that I can't handle. Amen. You stood outside in the cold for all of 2 minutes, before taking a deep breath and walking into the cafe-

-where you were met by a kid with huge hipster glasses and a breakout of acne, who adjusted her glasses and said, "Welcome to Geeks-R-Us. How much do you want to play?" You stuttered, "W-what?"

The teen rolled her eyes and popped her gum, sticking our her hip and a clipboard at the same time, "Here are our fees. For wifi, you pay by the hour. For computer services, you by by the half-hour. What will it be, old lady?"

You didn't even have time to throw the snarky sarcasm back into her face, as from your peripheral you saw a tan coat swish around a corner,followed by the men in black a few moments later- You quickly ducked your head and pulled out a few bills,"An hour of phone Wi-fi, please,"and a big heaping shot of courage, if you happen to have any around.

The girl took your money and went over to the counter. Typing in something rapidly, her computer printed out a code, which she gave to you. Thanking her, you stepped back and got a good look around the room she opened for you.

There were computers and rave lights everywhere. People bustled about, clacking away on God knows which sites, downloading and photoshopping and paying videogames and what-have-you. Posters and Korean slang dotted the wall as some DJ blasted Crayon Pop over two wall-to-wall speakers.

Boys arguing in a corner over what you recognized as an anime called Bleach, girls giggling on chatroom forums and rooms, mixed genders competing in Starcraft,League Of Legends, and Overwatch-the room smelt of hookah, perfume,junk food and hormones, and you sighed as you leaned against the wall, Oh Lordy......  
Keeping your back to the wall, you crept along in the shadows the neon lights made, you kept your eye out for that tan jacket-and was rewarded when you saw Youngjae in a corner, casually typing away on something. His face reflected in that pale blue light of the monitor, you could see that the man was in deep concentration over what he was doing.

-And then, like the beginning of a bad dream, the two men you saw earlier walked in from around another curtain, heads swiveling like meerkats, and locked onto Youngjae as well. One man nodded to the other, and they both tapped their jacket pockets, then their ears, then their pockets again. You didn't know what kind of fucked up sign language they had going on, but you would be damned if they hurt your student on your watch.

The men were closer to you than they were to Youngjae, and so they began to walk in his direction-acting like you were busily looking at your phone, you kept your head down and walked straight, knocking into shoulders of tweens left and right until you hit something else-Guy A, right in his chest.

You and the guy stumbled and went down, and he grunted and looked at you in confusion. A big brute of a man, you quickly spoke Korean in a cheesy way over the rave music, 

"Aaah, so sorry, Are you okay-I foreign,I foreign!!!!" Even though he was clearly a gangster-you felt the butt of his gun as you went down- enough Korean protocol dictated that a man must help the lady back to her feet after such a fumble.

As you both bowed to each other, you turned and both of you realized something-Youngjae and Guy B were nowhere in sight!!!!

You bowed again while pretending like you were fixing your clothes, and as soon as Guy A took off at a fast pace, you followed him. Fuck it, he looks like he knows where they are.

The man went outside and stepped into a side alley, where you took a deep breath and pulled out your brass knuckles, securing it on your left hand before following him.

Thankful that you weren't wearing noisy heels, you stopped behind a trashcan as from further ahead, you could hear Youngjae's voice, talking with another guy's voice.  
Youngjae's timbre was cool and sweet, while the others sounded like a cat who just got its tail stuck in the door.

From the sounds of things, Youngjae was trying to get his point across and the other guy wasn't having it-and that's when Guy A's voice cut in, a rude, grating low baritone of a voice.

This caused a full-blown argument to blow out, and now you were worried, No one knows we are back here-the street cars are too loud, maybe I should go get help-

And then your heart stopped as you heard what was unmistakably the sound of suppressed gunfire.

You stopped thinking, then stopped hearing completely as your senses went on overdrive.

Clearing out your hiding space like a hurdle, you dashed around the corner, fearing the worst ohgodohgodohgoddontletitbeYoungjaepleasepleaseplease

And you froze as underneath a light of a public bathroom, Youngjae stood in the middle of two very dead men, completely fine, without a hair out of place, casually typing away on his phone like nothing happened. From where you were, you could see two very small, very neat holes on each man's head. If you didn't hear what just happened, you would have those these men were two drunkards who passed out outside.

You stood in a shadow a good 15 feet away, not sure if you would laugh or cry, My cover isn't blown, I can still walk away from all of this, Your Honor,People of the Jury, I ain't seen shit-

Your thoughts were frozen as Youngjae lowered his phone, closed his eyes, and sighed, his air coming out in a long puff of condensed air.

"..........Sunsengnim, I know you are there.Come out, please."

You were frozen as Youngjae turned and looked directly at the shadow you were standing in, and when your legs wouldn't unlock Youngjae took a step in your direction, his tone now filled with concern, "Are you hurt?"

Your legs unlocked and slowly, slowly, you wobbled out into the shady light, looking anywhere but Youngjae's face and the bodies on the ground. Youngjae took off his scarf and tucked it around your neck, "Answer me, please-are you hurt?You're shivering."

Your eyes finally landed on Youngjae's now smiling face, and you snapped out of your zombie state,"Youngjae, they're dead-you-they-me-what? WHAT?Me follow, you? How? How you know?How now brown cow?"

You took a step back from Youngjae and wobbled-Youngjae could sense that you were closer to heart failure/insanity/mental breakdown than he thought, so he took you by your elbow gently but firmly, "Come, this way."

Leading you back through the cafe's back entrance and smiling to the hostess who waved goodnight, Youngjae walked you over to his car andcarefully sat you down in the passenger seat, not saying a word until both of you were in,the doors were locked, and he turned on the heat in both the car and your seats-soon, warmth filled the air and the color returned to your face as Youngjae rubbed your hands between his own,"................"

All you could do was exhale, and Youngjae leaned back into his seat, looked out the tinted windows before looking back at you, holding up your brass knuckles-you were too in shock to even realize he slid them off your hand. Examining the metal, he smiled at you with a sense of pride and light teasing, "Our noona-sunsengnim is tougher than she looks." 

Your voice came back, and with it, came anger and some embarassment, and you reached back and punched him in the arm, hitting him hard, and he jumped, "@#$&!!Yoo Youngjae!!!!!What is going on? What was that back there?!People are dead now-DEAD!!!" Youngjae winked, "How to say.....a disagreement with pals?"

You snatched back your knuckles as Youngjae chuckled, and you grabbed his jacket collar and shook him until you could hear his teeth rattle, "Stop laughing, you could've been hurt-you could've been killed!!!What the fuck-what-what-" To your horror, your voice cracked, and Youngjae looked at you before dragging a thumb across your cheek,catching water, "Sunsengnim, you are crying....were you scared?For me?" You dropped your head, sniffling, and nodded once. 

Youngjae closed his eyes and leaned back, before speaking to you again. It was the longest moment in your life as you put the heels of your hands to your eyes and tried to stop your tears from coming. You had so many questions now, such as Will you kill me now and What will happen to the goons in the back and I think I left my DNA on that on guy's jacket pocket, but none of these would leave your mouth.

"......Zelo didn't lie to you-we are businessmen,just not.........in a traditional style. We do certain business with certain people......and that's how we live," for the first time since you'd known him, Youngjae looked unsure of himself as he gestured with one hand, "We....... do want to grow as people, which is why we take your classes. We enjoy them by the way-yes,even Jongup," he added quickly, and you chuckle through your tears as you said, "So how did you know I followed you?"

Youngjae held up his annoying phone(you didn't know how, but you were irritated at the inanimate object as well), and smiled, "There is a tracking device on your car-you won't find it. I checked it after my.....argument......and saw that you were nearby. I put it together in my head," 

 

Youngjae tapped his temple as you sat there, stunned into silence as you slowly absorbed his words.

 

"....We just want to keep you safe. You are.....dear to us. We," Youngjae had the decency to blush, and shake out his fringe over his eyebrows, ".....We are fond of you."  
Youngjae takes your face and turned it so that you were looking eye to eye, "Don't do this again, please. I don't want you hurt-we don't want you hurt in our......affairs. In our darkness, you are our light."

Youngjae's words hit you like weights as he wiped your face gently and pulled away, unlocking his car doors and coming around and helping you out, "Come, I'll follow YOU home this time."

He walked you to your car and stood there as you got in, then followed you closely as you drove home, getting out when you were safely parked in your garage. You didn't even question it, now that he knew where you lived, and you were too tired to argue-it was already close to midnight.

Youngjae folded his arms and waited, tapping his foot as you pulled out your keys for the door, and you managed to laugh again as he huffed in the cold, "I am not going to follow anybody tonight- please go home." He tilted his chin at you, "You mean, you won't follow anybody ever again."

Your breath hitched as he walked up to you in easy steps and took his scarf from you, gently placing a warm kiss on your cheek,allowing his lips to linger on your face for just a few seconds before he stepped away from you, "Stay pure, noona-stay away from our dark side, please."

Youngjae walked back towards his car, and you watched as he waved and drove off....

......Going to bed later that night, after taking a few swigs of a 1975 Devil's Cut Bourbon you liberated from your stash, you sat in your bed,tipsy,drained of energy, and sighed-then your phone beeped with a message from an unknown number:

 

"You know, if you wanted a date, you could've just asked me normally.XOXO."

You let out a half scream, half giggle as you drifted off, holding your phone and dreaming of tan jackets and video games.....


	7. Day 90, Girl Problems And Zelo

3:42 AM

................Uggggggh.....................

You were literally dragging your feet in the hallway of your house, your robe hanging off your shoulders haphazardly, string undone and catching static on your plush carpet as you headed to the bathroom as fast as you could.

While you were sleeping, Mother Nature decided to launch a surprise attack on you-

 

-and you woke up to find out you were sleeping on the Japanese flag(A/N: take a second, think about it.)

-So naturally, in this crazy thing called life you had forgotten your own monthly bill was sneaking up on you, and now you were hurrying to the bathroom to try and save whatever dignity you had left-

-but of course, your cramps were always at their worst on the first 24 hours of your period, and 'hurrying to the bathroom' was more like 'Grandma Moses sliding her way knee deep in a pool of molasses'.

Needless to say, you were ticked off and sleepy, but there was no one around to be angry with/at as you reached your bathroom, slammed on the lights and fumbled around for the small canister of pills that held your salvation.

As you fumbled, your hand accidentally swept your hairbrush, oils, and cup with your toothbrush off the sink and onto the tile floor, causing you to stomp in frustration and squat to look for your other things-

-On the way up, you slammed your head into the cabinet door with enough force that your back teeth rattled in your skull, and you couldn't help it-

-throwing your head back, you yelled, "Fuck this shit!!!!!"

-coming out of the bathroom with a clatter and a bang, holding pills in one hand and a fresh pad in the other, you staggered back into your bedroom and dragged the sheets off your bed-

-to reveal your dread: that in fact, you had managed to soak through to the mattress beneath.

-sighing, all of the anger left you as you swallowed the pills dry and rolled your sheets into a ball, carrying that ball and depositing it without ceremony into your washing machine. With respect to your neighbors, you'd run the system in the morning.

Carrying some power detergent with you, you sprinkled a handful on the mattress stain and left in there to soak overnight. Trying to look on the positive side of things, the stain would wipe out clean in the morning and already the pills were starting to work.

Dragging a blanket from your linen closet, you took two pillows downstairs and crashed on the sofa, being sure to wrap your lower body closely to avoid anymore accidents.

It'll all be over in a few days............I just gotta keep swimming,just keep swimming...........

These words were your mantra as you managed to drift off.......

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

9:35AM

........Whelp. Fuck the mantra.

It hadn't even hit the double digits in the morning and already you wanted to burn your school down.

There was traffic on the way to school, your mother chose that time to call you and lecture you about coming home and settling down, finding a spouse in the process(even from across the fucking ocean you think you can rule my life, huh) and your classroom was in chaos when you tried to teach Geography that morning.

A kid recently discovered the joy of whoopee cushions- you sat down to ease the stress on your lower back, and was rewarded with the wonderful sounds of *BRRRRRRRUP* that echoed in the classroom.

Everyone laughed uproariously, especially when you jumped up and the whoopee cushion flew out from the chair with the force of your movement, stuttering and flipping in the air just like a deflating balloon.

It took you all of your patience reservoir to not throttle that kid, and mercifully the bell clanged for lunch an hour and a half later.

Your TA took the kids down while you popped more pills and held a hot water bottle to your stomach, closing your eyes and counting to ten slowly-

In dictation class, little Haejin discovered a cool new English phrase from one of her new music songs on her mp3-

-so naturally, she had to copy it so her friends learned it well-

-you came back from outdoor lab to find your TA hurriedly trying to wipe out WHAT'S UP CHOCOLATE SEXY SISTAH from her desk, but she used permanent marker on her desk......

-but that wasn't what brought you to despair-

-the crowning moment of the day came on your recess break when you tripped over a bookbag that Johnny didn't remember to put in his stupid fucking cubbyhole, the wire came out of your bra, and you knocked over and shattered your beloved succulent plant that a student gave you two Christmases ago.

Mr Choi just happened to be walking by when he saw you crying, kneeling on the floor and trying to pick up the soil with your bare hands and placing it repeatedly in the broken jar the plant used to sit in.

"Aahhh~sunsengnim, I think you should go home. Take it easy for the rest of the day."

You looked up at him with teary eyes, face streaked with some mud, and he patted your shoulder, "Don't worry about this-we can clean it up for you and put the plant in another pot. The substitute is already on their way-just leave your lesson plans on the desk and set out."

You bowed, "Thank you, sir-I really appreciate it."

You gathered yourself up off the floor, picked up your bag and coat and left with whatever pride you had left.

Not looking back once, you got in your car and drove home, not even turning on your car radio that's how done you were.

You got home, ran a long, HOT shower in which you soaked in until you were sure you were human soup, then climbed out and put on pajamas and fuzzy socks.

You remembered that your sheets were still drying on the line outside, so you sighed and turned back to the living room, back to the couch again. Oh well.  
As you plopped down, and settled in for sleep, this time armed with a book and your heated blanket, you couldn't help but feel as though you were forgetting something..........

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................  
8:10PM  
..........Yongguk closed his eyes and flicked his lighter quickly as Daehyun looked at his watch,"............Where is she?"

Himchan leaned against the wall of your classroom as Jongup tossed his knife between his hands casually, "It's not like her to be late."

Youngjae immediately pulled out his phone and began fiddling with it as Zelo shifted his weight back and forth on his long legs, his face concerned as he thought about where you might be...

Of course, Jongup saw his dongsaeng's face and couldn't resist exploiting anguish. Standing slowly, he said smugly, "Maybe our..........jealous friends got to her first?To see what she knows....?"

His Korean came out in a drawl and he trailed off, enjoying the look of alarm that passed for a split second on Zelo and Daehyun's face,dodging a marker thrown at him by way of Himchan. The blue haired guy only laughed and continued, "I wonder how well she would do under torture-"

Daehyun grabbed his collar from the side, "Listen up, you fucking punk-"

Youngjae stood straight up, holding his phone triumphantly, "The tracker is back online-hmmm," Yongguk opened his eyes and looked at Youngjae as Zelo looked over the brown-clad shoulder, "It says she is......at home!!!!" Zelo said, "Home? Are you sure?"

There were various sounds of shock/disbelief as Daehyun let go of Jongup and grabbed Youngjae's hand, turning it so that he could see the GPS with his own eyes, "What happened to her?" He didn't mean to think it, but images of you getting hurt in his head had him clenching up inside.

Himchan stood up abruptly, "I'll get to the bottom of this. Wait here."

He exited the room, Zelo looked at Yongguk in confusion-

-but that was cleared up as there was a "Hey!!!" from the hallway where Himchan had gone-

-and Himchan returned, pushing in front of him the smug, young guard from the front desk of the school.

Himchan promptly sat the guy down in a chair and sat down directly across from him, turning his own chair around so that he could comfortably cross his hands on the back of the chair and look the guard in the eye, "What is your name?"

The guard stuttered out, "Song Pyuk.......Kim Song Pyuk."

Himchan nodded, then gestured to the others, who were now watching with cool, trained eyes, "Alright, Song Pyuk-what is the problem here?"

The officer looked around quickly(gasping a little as Jongup's eyes flashed something unpleasant at him and Yongguk's gaze scorched his face in mere passing) before turning his eyes back to Himchan, "W-w-what are you talking about? There's nothing-"

Yongguk stood up, and Himchan backed off respectfully as Yongguk opened his lighter, the little orange flame bouncing cheerfully in the dim classroom, and set it down on the little wooden space between the officer's legs as he said slowly, "We are a class without a teacher."

The officer's terrified eyes now had a click of understanding as he said shakily, "Oh-didn't you hear what happened to ________-ah?"

In the background there were the sudden sounds of safeties being released from guns,knives drawn and bullets being checked in chambers as Yongguk tilted his head slowly to the side and leaned into the man's face, "Hear...........what?"

Song Pyuk,all bravado gone and sensing that his life was in immediate danger, said in a breathless rush, "N-n-noona was sent h-h-home earlier-they said she came d-down with a sudden s-s-sickness or something. There was a substitute for the m-m-morning class....but I s-s-see now that you weren't told. I'm sorry!!!"

This last part came out with a squeak, as Yongguk scanned his face one last time before he picked up his lighter and closed it, looking at Himchan with a nod as Himchan stood, making the officer stand with him and dusting off his shoulders in a congenial way, "Thank you, that will be all.You may go back to your post now," In his huskier, lower voice,   
Himchan said, "One last thing-Kim......"  
"W-w-what?Sir?"

Himchan's eyes flashed once,dangerously, "She is your noona-sunsengnim unless she says you can call her otherwise. Don't get informal with our.noona.sun.seng.NIM."

The officer shot up and fled out the classroom as Daehyun sighed, putting the safety back on his gun. The tense air cleared up as well as guns and weapons were holstered, and Zelo brightened up,"I want to go see her-to check up on her!!!"

Himchan pinched the space between his eyes, suddenly appearing older as he spoke to the maknae, not unkindly,"That is nice of you, but you never know who might be watching us or her, even here."

"It's true- three weeks ago I saw a guy from our rival gang follow her into the grocery store-before he made contact though, I dealt with it,"Daehyun said from his chair, and Zelo sighed before perking up again, "But she might need more medicine or something-she's been bedridden all day!!!"

The youngest turned to the oldest with pleading eyes, "Puleeeeeeez...."

Yongguk closed his eyes and mulled over it as Zelo hopped a little in anticipation,".............Fine-but only for a few hours or so-and then you meet with me at our regular place with an update. Am I clear?"

Zelo nodded, already out the door and keys out in his hand as Himchan looked at Yongguk, "You think they'll be alright?"

Yongguk nodded with an small smile as they watched Zelo fly off in his car, eager to see his beloved teacher, "Would you rather I have sent Jongup instead?" ".............Point well taken."

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................  
You were still in a deep sleep on the couch when Zelo showed up, quietly letting himself in(not only did Youngjae put a tracker on your car, but he also hacked and found all of your security codes for your doors to enter your house, the sneaky bastard.)

The youngest had made some stops on the way to your place-in his hands he held chocolate, random DVDs from his personal collection, instant ramen, cookies and juice packets, figuring in his head that you hadn't eaten all day and you were famished.....

Setting his prizes down, he stepped out of his shoes and quietly padded across the carpet to where you slept peacefully, momentarily questioning why you weren't sleeping in your room, but when you rolled over to your side, his thoughts left him as he saw you in all your natural beauty. Noona is really pretty......

His eyes took him on a visual tour of your downstairs area: walking around, he saw other gifts your kids had given you, as well as a few portraits and family pictures from home.   
Zelo randomly watered your plants for you, humming a little song to himself as he sprinkled the flora and fauna with generous amounts of water before coming back to you in the living room.

Watching you sleep, breathing peacefully, he couldn't help himself as he saw your face....

.......Leaning in until he could smell the soap from your shower, Zelo reached out a hand to your back slowly.....

......................................................................................................................................................................................................................  
You were finally having a good rest. All of the stress of the day and your body had finally taken its toll on you, and when the adrenaline left you, it left- leaving your spirits just as deflated as that damn whoopee cushion from earlier-the irony was rich with that...

As you travelled your dream world, you realized something-

-there was a tickling sensation in the back of your head that you were being followed, that you were being watched, somehow.

But that's crazy, you thought to yourself hazily, I'm home alone and I am a light sleeper. I would've heard if someone-

-but then, as you started to come back to reality, you realized that your instincts weren't wrong, someone was in your apartment, another warm body, and.......that person was....petting you?

Indeed, your burglar was extremely affectionate as their hand ran up and down your back in comforting strokes, alternating between lines and slow circles, actually helping you feel better-

-your eyes flew open and you shot up in the sofa with a short scream, reaching out and pushing the other person, who fell on their butt with a surprised yelp-

-you reached out a hand and yanked on the lamp chain, illuminating the room with a bright light as your eyes adjusted with an automatic squint at the intruder-

-Only to squeak out in surprise,"Junhong?!" as Zelo quickly held out his hands to you, "Noona-it's me~"

You rested your head back on the back of your sofa slowly, closing your eyes with a shaky laugh as Zelo murmured, "I'm sorry to disturb you-I wanted to check up on you."

You patted the cushion next to you, and he eagerly came over as you laughed, "Oh lovely child-I'm so sorry; I am not feeling well and they sent me home early. I am sorry I didn't tell you-but hey, in my defense, I don't exactly have any of your numbers." "That's alright."

Zelo looked at your face closely and blinked rapidly- you were surprised as he suddenly produced a thermometer from a pocket somewhere on his persona and slipped it quickly into your mouth, "Aah, sorry~but can you hold on to this for a second?"

You stuttered as the lanky guy took your wrist and felt for your pulse, looking at his watch with his other hand, nodding his head in time to the seconds going by, "Your pulse is steadying, and the thermometer says you're a little hotter than normal-but that's okay," he said, sliding the thermometer and reading it in the lamplight, and suddenly you laughed, charmed by his efforts to diagnose you as he said seriously, "Did you take any anti-depressants lately? Do you ever get nervous?"

You laughed outright, and couldn't resist pinching his cheek quickly, "Oh honey-I am not sick like that-I'm sick......in the female way.Today is my worst first day."

You watched with a small sense of glee as Zelo's wheels turned in his head, processing slowly what you just said, before turning a delicate shade of pink, "Oh..........OH."

You hugged him, "But I am feeling a lot better now-I took medicine earlier, and now that I have company, my stomach doesn't hurt so much anymore," you were quickly brought close to tears as you saw that small mountain of things Zelo bought, on the coffee table across from you guys, "Awwww-you didn't have to buy anything, that's so sweet."

Zelo, still that shade of delicate carnation pink, coughed and stood up gracefully, taking his chance and diving into the stack of things," N-no!!I wanted to!!!Here, there's food-you must be hungry-and I brought some movies we could watch together!!!"

He held up a movie, and you laughed as you read the title, "Home Alone? That's a classic!!!I'll pop it in right now!!!"

Zelo laughed as you tied your blanket around your neck as a cape, turning on your entertainment system as you crossed over to the TV. Popping in the disk carefully, you went and got a spare blanket for Zelo, tying it around his neck before crossing over to the table, "I'll get started on this ramen-" Zelo jumped to your side, "Let's do it together, noona!!!"

In the kitchen, you set up the pots and water as Zelo opened up the ramen, sauce packets, and other things from the store such as cheese, seasoning salt, and even some sausage slices to add to the broth.

You began adding things in slowly, under Zelo's careful guidance( the young man jumped at the chance to be the teacher for once, showing you how to make authentic Korean ramen with swag) and within no time at all, you returned to the living room,carrying drinks as Zelo carried the tray of dishes behind you, settling into a cushion fort you two made as the water was boiling, and turned on the movie.

You two laughed throughout the movie, and just as you were feeling cured, Mother Nature came back to assert her dominance..........

-somewhere between Angels In The Outfield and Rush Hour, your cramps came back and you dropped your chocolate in surprise, curling into yourself at the sudden pain as Zelo returned from the bathroom,"Do you want some more food-noona?!!!"

He immediately dropped to his knees and scooted close to you as you held your stomach, "Pills........kitchen table, please."

You hadn't even finished the sentence when Zelo left and came back on the same breath, handing you pills and water, and watching as you swallowed carefully before taking a deep breath-he hated seeing you in any kind of distress, "What can I do?"

You managed a weak smile as you patted his shoulder, "Nothing, my friend, nothing-painkillers and bananas help, and rest and heat," Zelo thought about this carefully as you cursed, you left your electric blanket in your room-

-But to your surprise, long arms came on either side of your body as Zelo settled around you, his chest pressing into your back carefully as he arranged the blankets around you both, his legs outstretching yours by a good 3-4 inches.

You closed your eyes as Zelo said hesitantly into your ear,"I am not a heater.....but if I can do this for you, is it enough?"

You bowed your head as surprisingly, it was helping-alot," This is heaven Zelo, thank you very much...."

The movie was still softly playing in the background, but your eyes started to benchpress what felt like 50lbs each as Zelo began to rock you side-to-side slowly.

Feeling your hair move with his short puffs of breath, you realized to yourself that Zelo was actually rapping to himself as he moved you to his rhythm-a smooth but driving beat   
of rhyme, combined with Korean and English,"Zelo- be louder-I really like your style."

Zelo stopped, "Really? I didn't want to disturb you..." You squeezed one of his hands that held your arm, "No-it's really good!!! you should release an album, or something," the medication was working its magic as you sleepily ticked off on your fingers, "I could help with the manager stuff, or course-with no real fee, since you are my student. Imagine all of the tours we'd go on, the fan meetings, your hyungs supporting you all the way.."

Zelo laughed, "Actually, I wanted to be a superstar before I-" he stopped suddenly, and coughed as he tried to change the subject, "Oh look-Jackie Chan just shot someone!!!!"  
You sighed, and squeezed his hand again," Honey, you are too young to be involved in........whatever you're involved in. You are much too talented and lovable-go out and live your life."

Zelo closed his eyes and took a moment,"........But how, noona, how?Tell me, please."

Zelo was silent, as he realized you had finally drifted off in his arms, sound asleep, and he smiled as he rested his chin next to your cheek, nuzzling your face before moving you to the couch carefully and turning off the TV, straightening up as he let out a sigh.

Coming back over to the couch, he kissed your forehead before he whispered in your ear, "I will stay with you until I get my answer-don't ever leave me....."


	8. Day 156-Your  Unexpected Date, Yongguk

9:35 PM, Monday Night

You were grading test papers after your regular evening class with The Matoki, and imputting the tests scores for your children onto the main database for your Korean teachers to place their comments on. It was just a regular, late evening after work that you normally took just to catch up on your admin work-it was fun in the classroom, but that paperwork would build up on you if you neglected it too long.

You already told your men that you would be staying late, so you could work in peace, and they said their goodnights-or so you thought-

Yeogi buteora, modu moyeora, we gon party like lilililalala....

You were on a roll as you were in your own system, your on world-

-jamming to some K-POP in your ears and grading your Math tests in your room-

-you jumped a full foot out the chair when someone tapped you on your shoulder-

-and Daehyun laughed as you spun around and pushed him, "Hey-don't do that again!!!"

Youngjae and Daehyun both laughed, and after a moment you realized that they both were there for a purpose: Youngjae was standing with his hands behind his back and   
Daehyun was looking at you with the smile that you were sure won him the hearts of many girls back in his high school days......

You sat back down in your chair and folded your arms slowly,suspiciously, "Alright, guys, what's up?"

Youngjae smiled, and it did not bode well for your soul as he said charmingly, "Noona-sunsengnim..........why don't you go out?"

You spat out your gum as you said, "What?! I'll have you know, I do go out-I hang out with my friends, go out and I do have hobbies," you rolled your eyes at Youngjae,"Or you haven't been watching me lately?"

Youngjae smugly leaned against your desk, "I mean go out, as in on a date-your love life!!!" You raised your eyebrows as he continued, "I have seen you come and go, but never with a boyfriend or girlfriend with you, you come home alone at night-"

You stood up quickly,your voice climbing an octave with emotion, "Youngjae, there are some things I can take from you-hacking into all of my things, the occasional stalking, but this, this-"

Daehyun could see your agitation and quickly he raised his hands in a peacekeeping gesture, "Noona, we only want to make sure you are happy, and not lonely."

He put a hand on your shoulder and gently pushed down, causing you to sit back down, and suddenly you felt that trepidation grow as you said in your normal voice,"..............I'll ask this once:what are you two planning?"

Youngjae revealed his hands with a flourish,"Ta-dah~a solution!!!!"

In his hands he held a deep yellow envelope,which was already opened and slightly rumpled,"........."

Taking it slowly, as though diffusing a bomb, you gingerly opened it and took out a fancy piece of stationary paper with sliver,burgundy, and gold lining the sides. It was bilingual, and it read like this:

Dearest Yongguk Bang,

You have been invited to the 54th annual Korean National Philanthropic Gala Event, nominated this year in the category for MOST GENEROUS MALE PHILANTHROPIST for your outstanding contributions to various charities and children's homes.  
We applaud your efforts and commend you for being a wonderful representation of our nation!!!Enclosed are two tickets:one for yourself and a guest of your liking.  
This is a formal event, and will start promptly at 9pm on _________ at the Presidental Museum in Gangnam District. Save the Date-we hope to see you there!!!!"

Whoa........I would've never realized that Yongguk had a massive heart-that's so kind of him to do that for our more unfortunate people........So cool.....

Indeed, as the days went by you were discovering more and more about those men and their secret talents. You almost laughed a loud as you remembered your first impression, how you were terrified on the very first night, but look at far you all had come, together.

You looked up from the letter to see both Youngjae and Daehyun smiling so hard that their eyes were mere lines and their faces looked to implode at any given moment, and suddenly you figured it out, ".........Oh no...."

Daehyun nodded, still grinning, "Oh yeah. You two are going."

You shook your head slowly, as Daehyun kept nodding as well, "....No. Ah-ah.Nuh-uh.Nope."

Youngjae sighed as you shook the letter at them both, "This is crumpled for a reason-I don't think that Yongguk wants to go at all-we share the same thoughts and we're not even in the same room!!!"

Even as you thought about even being in a massive room with OTHER so-called 'International Business Men'......you shuddered,6 are good enough for me, thanks.

Youngjae came around and behind you, and you sighed as he began to massage your shoulders, easing out some of the tension and knots you had been feeling all week. You didn't want to give in, but your shoulders automatically went down after a while and you leaned into his touch,Mmmm......damn you, Yoo Youngjae, and your talented fingers.....

Daehyun leaned into your face earnestly, "Noona-you two aren't married,but this is something you can do together~even as really good friends!!!"

You raised your eyebrow as Youngjae ventured a little lower down your back, "How did Yongguk and I go from 'teacher-student' to 'close friends'?"

Daehyun actually pulled out a small detective's notepad and began to read as though he was a news anchor/prosecutor,"Two weeks ago, did you two not run into each other at the musical museum and decide to watch a horror movie together?"

You nodded as Youngjae made a *confirmation* noise in his throat. *mmhmm*

"A month ago, did you not accept his invitation to an underground rap battle and went out with him at night?"

"..........Yes, it was fun." *mmhmm*

"Did you two not go shopping one day when he asked your help for Zelo's birthday present?"

"Sure." *mmhmm*

Daehyun smiled as he said teasingly, "Also, two nights ago, didn't hyung bring you spicy cheese ricecakes he personally made after you said you hadn't tried it before?"

"......Yes........"

Youngjae clapped in triumph as Daehyun bowed, and you sighed in defeat as you said grudgingly, "Alright, I guess we are friends.....somewhat." 

Youngjae moved from behind you, "Great!!!I'll tell him to clear his schedule for Friday!!!"

You almost yelled,"Wait-Yongguk already told you that he wasn't going!!!How are you going to go this time?!"

Daehyun tapped his fingertips together, looking like a villain as he said, "Because now, we have a beautiful incentive to go......YOU."

You sank down in your chair as Youngjae and Daehyun practically skipped out the door, and you could hear their "MUAHAHAHAHAHA" as they left the school...  
sigh............what did I get myself into?

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........Tuesday was a weird day in the evening class. 

Yongguk couldn't look at you directly in the eyes, Daehyun kept laughing at your blushing faces, Youngjae kept sneaking pictures-

Jongup and Zelo were whispering and giggling like school girls-

-and Himchan, who you thought of all people would at least be on your side through all of this, was the complete opposite-

-he came into class with a book catalog of colors; dragging you to stand next to Yongguk, he began holding up the rainbow fan and holding it up between your faces.

"...........Himchan, what the hell are you doing?"

Normally you would not curse, especially in class, but nobody was listening to you tonight as Youngjae had stood up and announced a field day....

Himchan grinned a creepy smile as he got through the pinks and got to the rose reds, "I am trying to find a color for both of you."

Yongguk sighed as you looked at Himchan questioningly," A color?"

Jongup surprisingly said easily, "We need a color for your dress and Yongguk's dress shirt for Friday."

"WHAT!!!" You tried to run away, but Jongup already heard what you were thinking and was now leaning against the door of your classroom, blocking the exit, twirling his blade in peace and tapping his foot to some music Zelo was playing in the background.

You looked at Yongguk, your eyes screaming for help as Himchan muttered something about gold being too weird and Yongguk rumbled quietly to you, "I'll distract Himchan ,you'll jump out the window.I know his tickle spots."

Suddenly realizing that you weren't alone in the awkwardness, you muttered back, "Nah~there isn't anything to land on down there. I'll take my chances with Freddy Krueger at the door-I don't need fingers to sprint."

Both of you actually looked at each other,paused at your looks of misery, and snickered quietly, unable to stop your chortling- and Youngjae noticed immediately, "See? they are already flirting like a couple!!!"

Daehyun sang out, "Congratulations~" as Zelo jokingly said, "So when was the honeymoon?"

Yongguk made to take a threatening step towards DH and ZL cackling, but Himchan held up a color in triumph,"A-ha~I'm a genius!!!"

In his hands he slowly held up a rich shade of magenta, and Jongup nodded his approval as Himchan turned to you," I pick you up after your morning class, yes?" You couldn't even bother correcting his grammar as he continued busily, "We know people-we took your measurements from your home. Now, we fit your dress that day."

Jongup moved from the door, and you went and sat down at your desk in defeat. Yongguk sat down at his space as well, and finally-FINALLY- everyone opened their workbooks to get through their assigned pages,although everyone sans Yongguk were grinning like Father Christmas himself was in the room..........................

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Wednesday and Thursday came and went in blur-it was funny that the day you normally looked forward to, now arrived with dread in your stomach.

Friday afternoon,on the dot-Himchan was pulled up in front of your school, and like a woman walking to her own execution, you got into his Porsche and he pulled off with childish glee, laughing at the look of terror on your face when he swerved in traffic and broke some laws to get to the dress store.

Walking inside, you felt a little better as amongst the fabric carts, racks of unfinished projects, and people bustling about on phones and taking orders from people in expensive looking outfits, there sat Yongguk, looking bored/murderous and missing something, and it clicked for you-

"Yongguk, where is your lighter?" Yongguk closed his eyes as Himchan huffed, "I have it and hid it from him-he threatened to burn the store down." 

Yongguk glared at Himchan, as though his face would suddenly combust with the force of his glare alone, and you couldn't help but to let out a slightly nervous laugh as two ladies came by to measure his arms,looking terrified at his aura,"Whelp, let's make the most of it."

The process was a little tricky-the girls fussed and cooed over your head,bust, and ass whilst Himchan argued with the boss of the establishment, a flaming gay man, over the difference between pleather,satin, and genuine silk-

-a few pins stabbed Yongguk in the back by accident, causing him to actually growl and scare off a poor intern, who locked herself in the bathroom and refused to come out even after he genuinely apologized-

-but 2 hours later, both of you were showered and in the appropriate wear for the night, and Himchan pretended to wipe a tear from his eyes as he swiped his black card at the front desk, ".....*sniff* It's beautiful..."

You were in an empress cut style dress, with slight train and shawl to emphasis your height well-and Yongguk looked like a true King with his purple,gold, and black combo tux on. In his pocket was a napkin and rose the exact shade of your dress. You were wearing gray heels, and he hand on nice black snake shoes. You guys looked at each other quickly and sighed...

It was going to be a looooooong night.........

................................................................................................................................................................................................................

6:45 PM

Daehyun was watching through the window of your classroom, and he grinned when he saw Himchan zigzagging through the school parking lot, with you and Yongguk in the back clutching onto the door handles for your lives, "Yo~they're here!!! Get ready!!!"

You barely got out the car when the paparazzi-Youngjae and Zelo -ran out the school and stood on the front stairs, taking multiple pictures as you and Yongguk hurried by, trying to get inside.

Jongup opened his mouth, more than likely to say something snarky, but Yongguk glared at him as we ran by, and Blue-Hair wisely shut up as we got into the classroom first.

Himchan walked in carrying what looked to be a sniper rifle case, which he set down on your desk-

-opening it turned out to be a massive palette collection of lipsticks, glosses, eyeshadows, foundations, brushes,blushes,mascara- there had to be at least 300 shades to choose from.  
You looked at Himchan,"......Where did you-"

The handsome man shrugged, "One of my sister's old packs-she lent to me."

You stutttered as you looked at the Sephora,MAC, and other expensive name brands in the set,"....This is OLD....?!This must be worth at least $550!!"

Himchan shrugged, unconcerned as he said, "This is last year spring's collection.Old.Outdated."

Your jaw dropped as you ran a finger over the sleek case-you didn't really deal with makeup, but this was every girl's dream collection.

Jongup slid up next to you, and you shivered as he leaned close to your face and studied it carefully.

Yongguk suddenly said, "...............Don't put the wrong shade on us, Jongup-ah."

You looked at him in surprise, and Zelo laughed, "Actually, this hyung is quite talented at putting on makeup."

"WHAT?!" Jongup shrugged as he began to arm himself with different contouring brushes and liners, "Just one of my skills-I'm good with my hands."

He came over to you and said, "Close your eyes." Feeling as though you were at the top of a rollercoaster, about to go over with no seatbelt on, you closed your eyes and tried your best to remain still as he began to apply foundation carefully to your face......

"Ahhhh, this gray would be perfect!!!"

"No-you gotta have matching blue!!!!"

 

"Blue is YOUR favorite color,Junhong-ah~it doesn't go with his shirt!!!"

Yongguk sighed, and you could hear Jongup's shoes as he moved back and forth between the both of you while Himchan helped him out with passing out colors he asked for.

"Aish hyung-now I have to do this again!!You twitched!!"

"Then do it quickly please."

"Noona, blue or black eyeliner?"

The sudden question in English made you quickly say black, and you felt Jongup's slender finger gently pull on your eye as he drew your bottom lids swiftly and efficiently-you were impressed, and actually a small,tiny,miniscule part of you looked forward to the final product....

After a while, there was a drumroll noise as Jongup said grandly, "Have a look now."

Opening your eyes and adjusting to the light for so long, you accepted a mirror someone passed to you-

-and you gasped as you didn't recognize yourself for a good minute.

Jongup had truly done you justice: your eyebrows where shaped and your eyes had on maroon, pink, and a dash of silver wintery sparkles on the outer lids to give you the effect of some mystical princess as your mascara winged out perfectly. On your lips, Jongup had the good sense of using colored lipgloss instead of lipstick-you were wearing a nice mauve that was just the right amount of pink and purple to compliment your warmer complexion. He had taken the time to pin up some of your front braids into a simple twist-off to the side, much like Frozen's Elsa, which he placed over one shoulder.

To top it all off, Himchan had sterling silver jewelry which he draped on your wrists and fingers, placing moon circles into your ears and a necklace which you were sure was more valuable than your car.

Yongguk took your breath away as well-the eldest man in the room was now wearing slight coal eyeliner, with a nice sort of gold rinse to his face that was ethereal and natural at   
the same time.

Everyone applauded as Jongup bowed, and this time Himchan really did water up as he said, "It's like watching my kids go to prom....*sniff**sniff*...."

You turned to Jongup, took a deep breath of courage, and reached out, squeezing his arm as he packed up the brushes meticulously, and he looked at you in surprise, ".....Hey. I really, really like this makeup. You are really talented. Thank you very much," you smiled at him, but-

-to your amazement, for the first time since you met him, Jongup blushed and looked to the floor, "........It was nothing. You're already pretty-I didn't have to do a lot."

This was said so quietly that you were almost sure you imagined it-

-but Youngjae snatched you away from Jongup, "Come on~couple pictures!!"

Standing outside underneath the school's name, you and Yongguk pose(with as much enthusiasm as someone getting a root canal without anesthesia) for Youngjae's pictures as Zelo cheered and Daehyun threw weeds in the air, re-enacting a wedding scene as Himchan laughed in the background.

 

8:30 PM

"...........Alright son, I want her back in her bed, fully dressed and ALONE at 1 am," Daehyun jokingly said as you gave him your car keys and got into Yongguk's Ferrari, with said driver holding on to your train carefully.

You reached out the window and flicked him on the nose,"........When you least expect it, Daehyun-noona will have her revenge.REVENGE."

The Busan man only laughed as Youngjae said teasingly," What will you do, noona-throw your heels at him? Threaten him with an English exam?Bake cookies?"

As the two collapsed against each other in a fit of laughter, Yongguk murmured, "....Should I hit them with my car?A 2-for-1 shot?"

You murmured back," Nah-think of the damage to your front bumper. Youngjae's chin is pretty sharp looking, and Daehyun's forehead alone would set the damage price in the thousands."  
You two snickered again, and of course Zelo was there,grinning like an idiot, "They're doing it again!!!" 

Himchan tapped the top of Yongguk's car, "Have fun tonight.Don't get too crazy."

You growled, but couldn't stop your smile from spreading as Daehyun leaned against Jongup and waved his jacket like a grandmother waving her hankerchief as you two sped off into the night...

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................

.....Honestly, you didn't mind doing this with Yongguk. Out of all the men in your class, he was actually the most shy-he would participate and do activites, of course, but if it came down to observing or participating, he would happily sit in the background and watch the others chatter away during role-plays and script readings you printed off from educational websites.

Running into him one-on-one on the street was always a pleasant surprise-as he seemed to genuinely take an interest in your thoughts on social issues and you two were able to have a normal, safe conversation without it ever feeling weird or forced.

There was even one time(that Daehyun didn't have in his notepad, the shock!!) that you watched him onstage performing with a local jazz band. Afterwards, you got to talking and ended up staying with him and his band, who all were shy but intelligent, and you guys stayed out together well past 2 in the morning.......

Afterwards, Yongguk followed you home to make sure you got home safely. When you got home, he handed you a pair of tiger-striped gloves, ".........It's getting colder, please wear these."

You were shocked and touched-a few weeks before this, when you guys were shopping for Zelo's birthday gift, you found out that both of you had the same favorite animal-which   
was the tiger, you hugged him before jumping back,causing him to blush and making you laugh.

He had a deeper mind that most people gave him credit for, and although he watched everything with a keen eye you knew that he believed in what he could do with a stronger conviction than most people.

Yongguk sighed as he got on the highway, windows down in the ususually warm night, letting a nice breeze into the car as he looked for the upcoming exit, and finally you turned to him,"..........It's gonna be alright-we go in, socialize for a little while, fake laugh, eat appetizers, clap at speech, then go home," you smiled, "In and out-like a drive-thru."

Yongguk looked at you and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, and you were curious, "......Why didn't you want to go tonight?"

Yongguk glanced at you again before speaking slowly,"..........I don't need awards for what I do. Shouldn't we all just give back when we can? Isn't that......... human nature? We should help when we have the chance to." 

You were stunned for multiple reasons:  
1\. That was the longest sentence you had EVER heard Yongguk speak.  
2\. That was deep as fuck.

You nodded, and he sighed as he continued, "These people tonight.........they are dirty. I am dirty. We all want to be the light, but light makes shadows, too."

You squeezed his arm as he got off the highway, and in no time at all you were at the Museum-you didn't even need to know how to read Hangul to find the place-there was a red carpet outside and the paparazzi had already started blinding people as a valet teleported to Yongguk's window and took ownership of the car.

Yongguk came over to your side and opened the door for you-

-noticing your expression of shock, he quickly and quietly said, "Deep breath. Stomach in. Smile easily. Look straight ahead. Don't let go of my arm."

You nodded, and Yongguk crinkled his eyes at you in a friendly way as he helped you out into the sea of swarming lights and led you in like a blinded sheep into the double doors of the massive building, where he turned in your tickets and soon you two were standing amongst other ritzy people, chatting about, holding champagne flutes and looked at some exhibits on the walls.

You didn't have to be a genius to figure out that this was definitely an aristocratic gathering:mayors of minor precincts held lofty conversations about opening banks and such in their towns, women with feather boas discussed where they bought diamond collars for their chihuahuas-

-Yongguk looked so alone, so miserable, that you felt compelled to get him to smile-

-sweeping off two flutes from a passing waitress' tray, you handed him one and went and stood next to a watercolor portrait of two warriors from the Han Dynasty staring each other down, weapons drawn.

You stood on one side and spoke in your best imitation voice of Daehyun,"Youngjae-ah, you ate my cheesecake-I'll never forgive you!!!"

You quickly dashed to the other side, dropping your voice some as Yongguk chuckled, "That's what you get for messing with my tablet,Daehyun-ah~my sweet vengeance!!!Note the irony!!!!"

Yongguk snorted into his drink and covered his mouth as you went over to a portrait of a sinister looking old woman knitting sweaters, "Hehhehheh, I'm Moon Jongup and I will conquer the world!!Mwahahahaha!!!" you cackled, and Yongguk tried his best to muffle his laughter with little luck, as you went to the last picture of two women in cocktail dresses, singing in a sleazy bar, "I am Himchan-I am Zelo-we are from 2NE1-Naega jaeil, ja la ga-I am the best!!!"

Yongguk finally laughed aloud, a sweet, deep sound, and you laughed with him as he put an arm around you, "Thank you, I needed that."

You smiled back, and opened your mouth, when from behind you you heard a very high-pitched voice,"Well, well, well-what do we have here?"

Turning around, you were greeted with a skinny woman in a dazzling dress so done up in sequins and jewels that you actually had to squint for a second as the voice laughed,"Ha-a-a, I see you are captivated by my dress. Exquisite, isn't it?"

As your eyes adjusted, Yongguk groaned as he said quietly to you, "Allow me to introduce my ex-girlfriend, and proprietor of the Fashion Magazine 'Us Weekly'-Shim Kang Yin."  
Kang Yin laughed as she fanned herself with a peacock fan, flanked by two bodyguards, and you bowed politely while resisting the sudden urge to spit on her dress, as she snottily said, "Yongguk-ah, I'm surprised to see you here-and with a foreigner, too!!What a scandal!!!"

In accented English, she held out her hand and shook yours limply,looking you over, "I like your dress-although, I must say- it was meant for girls with, how to say......slender figures."

You raise your eyebrow at her in shock as she abruptly turned and began speaking with Yongguk, completely tuning you out, "You never returned my calls-we can still be business partners."

Yongguk growled, "I told you, I don't want anything to do with your family's magazine. I have my own things to handle. If you'll excuse me, my beautiful date and I have affairs to attend to."

One of her bodyguards, a refrigerator on legs, stepped forwards menacingly, but Kang Yin held up a hand, stopping him. Smiling sweetly, she handed you a business card, "That's alright, no man can resist me for too long. Here, darling-if you decide to do something about that.... appalling.... style of yours, give me a call."

With a dramatic turn, she walked away, her bodyguards trailing her like two massive pitbulls, and you looked at Yongguk,"........Scratch what I said about your car. Run that bitch over." "I'm tempted to-very,very tempted to."

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

A bell rang, and Yongguk explained that it was time to find your seats in the actual ballroom.

More doors opened, and when you finally stepped inside, you marvelled at the beauty of the decorations within.

It was a room fit for royalty: beige and ivory tablecloths decorated each round table that sat 12 each; massive floral arrangments of wisteria,daffodils, and imported lilies were the centerpiece of each table, along with complimentary gift bags stuffed to the brim with giftcard goodies,skincare products and plum wine from Japan.

Waiters came out and laid rotating trays down, heaped with roasted fish, rice, salads, and finger foods as well as cocktails and soups of different varieties and sizes.

There was a raised stage, with a live band playing soft, easy music in the background as some important looking lady prepared to make her opening speech-

-Yongguk smiled, and gently took you by the elbow to a seat towards the side and back, "For a quick getaway, right?"

You nodded quickly, "All of these people's colognes are gonna give me a seizure soon.Maybe I can sue and make it big?"

He laughed, but unfortunately for the both of you, Kang Yin showed up and immediately plopped down on the seat next to you, "Funny running into you guys again~this," she gestured to some poor sap sitting in between her bodyguards, looking like he was kidnapped," is my fiance, Guran. The fiance you could've been, Yongguk," she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him, and before you snapped, the lights fell and the lady began her speech, "Hello~my name is Commissioner Yoo Taemin-thank you all for coming, and welcome to the 54th Annual Korean Philanthropic Event!!!!"

Your Korean skills had to work tonight-swallowing your insult and abruptly turning your back on Kang Yin, you forced yourself to focus on all the speakers and tried to get the gist of what each one was saying......

Finally, another man went on stage as the commissioner took her leave for the 4th time to applause, and began to speak, "And here are the nominees for the MOST GENEROUS MALE PHILANTHROPIST," there was a drum as the man read from the prompter in the back, and you woke up quickly, surprised that you actually managed to doze off in such a noisy room:

1.Lee Gwang Soo!!!!

2\. Kim Joon Ki!!!!!

3.Yo In Sub!!!!!

4.Dan Sungmin!!!!!

5\. Bang Yong Guk!!!!!

6\. Yun Joon Hung!!!!!!

7\. Wei Sang Man!!!!

Each nominee stood up and bowed 3 times as their names were called out to the cheering audience, and the man smiled until it died out, "And the award goes to..............MR. BANG YONGGUK!!!"

You stood up and cheered as the room erupted in whistles and cheers, and Yongguk looked surprised as you pushed his back, "Go on, go on!!!"

The man got to his feet and slowly manuevered through the audience until he got to the stage, where he shook his hands with the presenter and accepted the award while the female announcer did a quick voiceover for the television crew, "Mr Bang has made various donations to places such as the Seoul's Heart Research Facility, St. Jude's Children's hospital, the Ronald McDonald House Of Love, and submitted money for underpriviledged students in Sudan to go to school on scholarships in subjects of their choice."

You clapped like a seal as Yongguk bowed deeply before stepping up to the podium, clearing his throat as a respectable silence fell over the crowd as he took a moment and then began to speak, his deep voice casting as spell over the audience:

"Ah~thank you to the committee for selecting me for such an award. It is truly a pleasure to accept this on behalf of myself and my team-it was not just me, but a whole community behind me. We are all familiar with the idiom 'it takes a village to raise a child', but this can also be appplied to the earth we live on. We should lean on each other during the hard times, gather our strengths,embrace our weaknesses, and give back at any moment we can. I was lost myself, and had many doubts, but with the help of some people very dear to me, both new and old-I pulled through. Let's do it, together-let's save the world!!!"

Yongguk bowed again before taking his leave to tumultuous applause, and as he came back to the table you quickly wiped your tears away as the other presenters entered the stage,"That was beautiful-granted, I only understood some of it, but well done, Yongguk," Feeling slightly apologetic to your makeup-you reached out and gave him a quick hug before backing off and sipping your drink, and Kang Yin fake-vomited as she sampled her soup.

As the night went on, Yongguk leaned against your shoulder as you examined his award-it was a genuine gold figurine of a man holding a baby while a girl sat on his foot, looking up at him with joy, and you tossed it lightly,"Wow......this is legit."

Yongguk gently took it from you as he said, "Yes.......I will put it in my house with the others."

You gasped, "Others?!How many of these things have you won?"

Yongguk blushed and modestly said, "I think I have 12 now-that's too many, right?"

You clapped again, "That's so cool~you are one of the greatest people I've ever met, Bang Yongguk."

Yongguk chuckled, "The same could be said for you,___________~ah, I mean, noona-sunsengnim."

You laughed, and pushed him on his shoulder, "Oh, it's alright-according to your friends, we are already married, remember?"

You clinked your glass with his as he said,smiling, "To those miserable children," and you both took a sip-

-but Kang Yin cut in snidely, speaking loudly in Korean, "Ugh-must he do that in front of me?!Doesn't he have any shame!!!He has a thing for imported goods I see-but from the look of things, this one is already waaaaaaaay past the expiration date,"she laughed, and her bodyguards laughed with her-

-but you were tired, pissed off, and a demon possessed your arm-

-causing you to fling your drink in a spectacular arc over onto her fan, face, and dress as her fiancee gasped. Standing up and taking Yongguk by the arm, you turned to Kang Yin and spoke to her in a cold tone,"I believe you're mistaken-THIS imported good is still salty."

Doing a dramatic turn that Himchan would've been proud of, leaving her sputtering in a fruity,alcoholic smelling mess, you left the room, chin high, hands fulled with giftbags and your purse and your train majestically flowing behind you, Yongguk on your tail as you went to the valet and got his keys, "Let's get the fuck outta here-I'm over it."

.............................................................................................................................................................................................................

Yongguk drove for a little while, deep in thought as you shrugged off your shawl and smiled at him tiredly, "Congratulations-you survived the night." He smiled, "Correction-we survived the night."

You two high-fived, and suddenly you said,"It's only midnight-I have an hour before Daehyun-appa's curfew," Yongguk laughed as he said, "I know the perfect place..."

After a little bit of driving, he pulled over and parked, coming around and opening your side for you. Looking out into the night sky, as birds flew by, you realized that you guys were at a section of the Han river.

Yongguk popped open his trunk and handed you a fluffy hoodie before pulling out one for himself, and as you both bundled up and sat down in the grass, looking out at the black water rippling in the night, Yongguk quietly said, "Thank you. For tonight."

You chuckled to yourself as you said, "Don't thank me yet-with our exit I might have just gotten you banned for life or something. They might invalidate all 12 of your awards because of me."

The man sitting next to you threw back his head and laughed into the sky, the wind moving his hair as he said, "And I........wouldn't mind that at all, honestly." 

You laughed with him, then sobered up as you thought of that bitch Kang Yin, and shuddered,"......"

Yongguk heard what you were thinking, and looked at you with soulful eyes as he said, "I was young, and stupid, and thought that money equalled love-but I was wrong, I ended it with her as soon as I came to my senses."

You nodded as he cast his eyes back towards the river, sighing, and as you slid out of your heels you were suddenly inspired-

-Yongguk was startled of his thoughts as you hit him on the shoulder and took off running, barefoot, in the field you were in, "Tag~~you're it!!!"

Yongguk took 15 seconds before he got it-

-you were already a good couple of yards from him-

-but soon you could hear his laughter ring out in the night as he began to chase you around the field-

-you forgot about your dress' train, and as you stumbled to grab it from behind you-

-Yongguk grabbed your arm, "I've got you~"

You and Yongguk played like that for a good half-hour, laughing and giggling like children, dashing,zigzagging this way and that until you both collapsed in the grass, breathless and covered in grass and flower petals.

You sighed, "Oh shit-Himchan's gonna kill me, I've got to clean and return his dress and jewels-"

But Yongguk shook his head, smiling, "He paid for it-it is all yours."

You sat up quickly, shocked,"....This is waaaay too expensive for me to keep-"

Yongguk shook his head again, and said firmly," It.Is.Yours.A gift, if you will-an early Christmas gift.It was customized for you-no other girl in the world will wear it-no other girl will look as beautiful in it as you do now."

You blushed as Yongguk raised his hands-in his hands he made a crown of the lilies from your table, and he placed it on your head, with twin kisses on your cheeks, "The lovely queen has arrived,with her knight to protect her."

After a while, Yongguk drove you to one of his spots, where you two ordered drinks and talked about life like true friends all night, not caring as the bartender saw your ruffled formal clothes, with grass in your hair and dirt on your cheeks, not giving a fuck as you two got up and danced, looking like escaped hostages while people clapped nearby- but also not knowing of the danger you two would find yourselves in, in the very near future.....


	9. Day 288-Blood,Frozen, And Jongup

4:30AM, Saturday morning

It was the beginning of Winter Break-the whole country had shut down its educational system for 2 and a half whole weeks for one thing-CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

And of course, what did you do with that knowledge?

You decided to NOT do anything that first weekend, opting instead to try and recover lost sleep, so there you were, while most other people went out, you were happily curled up in your bed....sleeping well....

...........Until your eyes flew open as you heard a commotion coming from somewhere close by.

Sitting up in your bed slowly, not sure if you were still in dreamland or not, you strained your ears in the dark, and hearing nothing, you sighed and fell back into the bed, rolling over and inhaling your clean pillow scent-

-but you jumped out of bed as a shout and a *THUMP* sound-that was fucking real, and it was coming from......your living room? Oh, hell, no.

You reached out underneath your bed and felt around on the floor, spreading your fingers around like a spider, touching around until you felt the cool handle of the metal baseball bat you kept for safety.

Being a woman, living alone in a foreign country-you took no chances. There was something usable as a weapon in each room in your house-even your bathroom had a ping-pong paddle right next to your toilet.

Throwing your sheets back with your other hand, and quietly unclipping your phone from the charger, you secured your feet in your house slippers, tightened your grip on your Louisville Slugger, and crept towards the door of your bedroom slowly.

Exiting your room and making your way slowly down the steps, one hand carefully on the banister and avoiding all the stairs that you knew were creaky, you got to the bottom floor and frowned-

Wait, that noise isn't inside.........it's outside.....on the street in front of my house!!!!

 

Feeling only slighty better when you turned on the hallway light and saw that your door was still securely locked and nothing was out of place in the kitchen, you lowered your bat slowly-

-only to clutch it quickly to your chest as you heard a grunt, a soft pop, and a cry of pain from outside.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckshitshitshitshitdamndamndamndamn-

Your mind was like a broken CD as you dashed to the curtains in your living room, left the lights off, and quietly tried to peer through your blinds to see what was going on without giving yourself away-

-and you gasped as your eyes adjusted to the darkness outside, with the help of one lone streetlight still on-

-there was a full on brawl going outside; from the looks of it, one guy was lying face down on the cold pavement while 2 other guys double-teamed one lone fighter-

-you couldn't make out anyone's faces, but as one guy and his friend punched the last man, he stumbled into the light and you got a flash of blue hair as he dropped to one knee-  
Fuck.

Blue Hair.

Tattoos.

You knew only one person who had hair that color.

Fuck.My.Life.

You threw open the door to your house and hurried outside into your driveway, creeping along the line of rhododendron bushes you had lining the pathway as Jongup dodged another attack the best he could-

-as you approached from the darkness of your lawn, you could hear cursing form one guy and rough mocking from the other man trying to kill Jongup, but that didn't worry you-

-what worried you was the fact that Jongup wasn't talking back-

-rather, the skinniest one outside was clutching a hand to his side as blood seeped through his fingers, his breathing was heavy, and his trusty knife was nowhere to be seen. He was defenseless and alone-

-whelp, not completely alone. You were there now, and suddenly there was an anger erupting from your soul, a fire and fury so great that it filled your body with lava until you thought you would erupt from the very force of it-

"C'mon, ya little punk, show me whatcha got!!!How are ya gonna protect your little lady in her home when you can't even defend yourself here-"

-that was all you needed to hear form the unsuspecting man directly in front of you as he crooned teasingly to a fallen Jongup on his knees in informal,very rude Korean, holding Jongup's own beloved knife in his hands as he danced back and forth in a taunting manner-

-reaching your baseball bat all the way to Japan, you twisted your hip and pivoted with all the weight you could muster on one leg-

-and your swing connected squarely with the back of the man's HEAD with a thundering *THWACK*as you screamed/screeched in one breath, 

"GETDAHFUCKAWAYFROMHIMYOUUGLYMOTHERFUCKAH!!!"

Jongup's eyes flicked up in surprise as the same time the other guy's did, your first target dropped to his own knees, screaming as he was now bleeding from his ears, but you were in a full rampage as adrenaline and rage took over your system completely-

-stepping over the man trying to crawl away from the sudden angry foreign woman who quite literally appeared from the shadows, holding his head in anguish-

-you took a swing at the second guy, who was a little bit smarter and dodged away-

-your second swing missed him by a hair as he pulled out a chain of his own, and Jongup called out from the floor,"Noona, look out-ugh!!!"

-more blood seeped from his wound as the guy swung his chain and stepped towards you threateningly-

-but that step turned into a jump back again as you screamed,swinging trusty Old Faithful in your hands again, "Get back-GET BACK, NOW!!!"

-The man lunged forward towards you, whipping his chain over his head-

-but Jongup threw out his own leg, causing the man to trip and fall with a grunt on his own momentum on his hands and knees-

-and you pounced on him, slamming your bat down hard onto his back and arm as he tried to protect his face multiple times, screaming with each hit, "DON'T*thump*GO*thump*NEAR*whack*HIM*thud*AGAIN!!!"

-so enraged with you and your hitting, you didn't notice the first guy shakily raise a gun in your direction until it was too late, and Jongup yelled in alarm-

*pap*!!!!*pappappap*!!!

.........There was silence as you whipped around in shock, certain that it was Jongup who was shot, not you-

-the gun slipped out of the first guys's hand as he fell on his face, 6 bullet holes in his back as Jongup looked confused-

-but to your immense relief, it was Daehyun and Himchan who stepped from the shadows, guns drawn as they hurried to your side, Himchan's gun smoking as he began helping   
Jongup gingerly to his feet and Daehyun securing the guy beneath your feet, who was now groaning and holding his arm, which you shattered on that last swing-

"Noona, are you alright?!"Daehyun was now looking you over quickly, as he saw that there was blood on your clothes, and you shook your head slowly, "Not mine.............not mine.......not mine.......he he....ha.ha.ha........hehhehheh...."

You were trembling all over as your grip was still tight on your bat, and Himchan noticed this as he began to support/carry Jongup into your house, "Daehyun-ah, get her into the house."  
Daehyun tried reaching for the bat, but you pulled back from him with wide eyes, shaking harder, and he immediately understood-noona's in shock- as he said quietly, "Okay, I'm going to lead you inside now, noona-it's alright, you are safe."

He slowly holstered his own gun and took careful steps towards you, keeping his voice warm and quiet and repeating himself as he reached out one hand, slowly, as though approaching a wild animal, and took the hem of your robe, trailing his hand up until it lightly rested on your shoulder-

-with the lightest application of strength, the Busan man held you around your waist and led you back up your driveway as down the street, your closest neighbor's lights turned on in her living room as people began to wonder what in the world was going on out there-

You were led to sit down on your sofa, and Jongup was already being tended to by Himchan as the older man had already dragged some blankets and set up a makeshift cot on the floor, where the blue haired one was groaning in pain as Himchan produced a small first aid kit from his jacket and began to clean the wound, "Aaah-that fucking stings...Fuck!!!"

Himchan waved off Jongup's flailing hands as he spoke to Daehyun brusquely," Since Yongguk is out of town, Zelo and Youngjae are coming to help.....clean up. They will be here any minute-we have to clear out before the police arrive. Grab noona's bat, her robe, his outer jacket, anything that has blood-leave no evidence here."

Daehyun nodded while he set a cup of tea down in front of you, pressing his hands on either side of your face so that the lingering heat would bring back your color, "Two guys are dead.....but the last one, the one that noona got to, is still very much alive."

Himchan's eyes turned to shards of solid black ice as he said chillingly, "Bring him to my basement. He is lucky he only has a broken arm-for now.We will get him talking, but until then," Himchan's eyes softened as he looked at you in concern-

-for you still hadn't let go of the bat, and now you were shivering harder as Daehyun put a blanket around your shoulders and squeezed them slowly, as your adrenaline began cooling off in slow degrees-

Daehyun looked at you with pride and warmth as he chuckled, "Noona-you beat some ass tonight-but more importantly, you saved Jongup's life. I'm proud of you."

-Finally, you raised far away, glassy eyes at Jongup, who was laying back, his teeth clenched as the wound bubbled over, reacting strongly to the iodine that Himchan found underneath your sink-

-and you loosened your grip on the floor, letting it fall to the floor with a clang as you sighed and fainted into Daehyun's surprised arms....

................................................................................................................................................................................................................

SOMETIME LATER, SATURDAY STILL

.........When you opened your eyes, you found yourself looking up at the ceiling of your living room, I didn't hang that frame in my bedroom-what room is this?

It was dark as you turned your head, allowing your eyes to adjust to your home as you realized where you were, Why am I downstairs? I'm not a sleepwalker......

Sitting up slowly, someone else groaned in the room-

-your eyes settled on Jongup's sleeping form, stretched out in your recliner under a light sheet,lightly snoring as he turned to his good side-

-and suddenly it all came back to you, causing a sharp pain to go through your head as memories of what happened earlier shuffled through your head at blazing speed-

-a gang fight, blood, wet pavement, heavy breathing, a knife, a baseball bat, gun shots,screaming-

You gasped and clutched the sides of your head at the pain, curling into yourself and taking staggered breaths until the pain subsided somewhat.

Shakily getting off the sofa and wobbling by Jongup, you made your way to the kitchen and splashed your face with cold water, shivering at the frigid temperature before   
going,fuck life, and sticking your whole face underneath, holding it there for a good minute before coming up for air.

Sliding down the floor, you stretched your legs out and threw your head back against the bottom cabinet, feeling tears run down your face as you thought about what could've happened, you closed your eyes and pressed your hands into your sockets............

.............You moved your hands slowly as something warm settled over your lower body, my blanket...?

Looking up, you saw Jongup leaning heavily against the counter next to you, his face determined but pale with the loss of blood, "............That isn't a very good place to sit, sunsengnim."

You looked at him,".................Does it look like I'm moving anytime soon?Does it look like I even care?"

Jongup smirked a bit, "Why do you think I brought the blanket? You can catch a cold there. You women are weird."

You snorted, "....You know what? Fine. If this madness is what my life has come to, then I'll be down here all the hell I want to. Pneumonia,malaria-they're the least of my problems right now."

You sighed as Jongup slid down to the floor to sit next to you,as you didn't know what emotion to feel as he gingerly moved his hand from his side to take yours in his, 

"....................................".

Fuck it, you thought, and leaned your head against his shoulder as you listened to his steady heartbeat, and you heard him stifle a gasp, but you chuckled, "You are shy about skinship? With me? Don't worry, after today, nothing can scare me anymore."

Jongup was silent before he spoke softly, ".............But I scare you."

This was said with such sadness that you pulled back your head to look at him as he said, "This is the second time since you've known me that you have ever touched me.I, how to say........'creep you out'."

"I.........am not a bad person. I........am different, I know,but...........I think and care about things. My heart is.....all jumbled up now."

You couldn't believe it-here was the same snarky, sinister looking guy in your English class that always gave you the chills, actually opening up to you. It was the first time since you'd started giving the Matoki lessons that you and Jongup held an actual conversation-and look at the circumstances that caused this vulnerability to happen.

As Jongup looked anywhere but at you, you suddenly remembered just how young he was compared to the others, being only a little older than Zelo himself-suddenly, the tough guy image around him faded for a moment and all you saw was a sad young man,alone in his own head.

You sighed, "It's true, you used to creep me the fuck out-," his head dipped sadly, but you put your arm around his shoulder and pulled him in closer to you, ".....But I wouldn't have stepped out this morning if I didn't believe your heart was a golden treasure."

He looked at you in surprise as you laughed,continuing, "Honestly, you're alright. I have come to accept your creepiness for what it is-truth be told, I think you have some of the greatest potential in the world. We've been in class together for a while now-and you haven't killed me yet-that's a big plus in my book." 

Jongup looked at you in wonder as he mulled over your words, his expression starting to brighten as you said, "I even got used to the knife twirling, once you peeled that pineapple for us in 3 strikes that one time-that was badass!!!"

Jongup blushed as you squeezed his shoulder, then stood slowly, "Come, let's get some food."

He made to stand up with you, but immediately hunched over in pain, hissing as he pressed a hand to his side. Hurrying over to that side, you moved the shirt slowly to reveal a gash about 13cm long, and gasped, "Fucking shit. You need to go to the hospital-"

"NO!!"Jongup let out a harsh negative as you jumped back, and he sighed, "No hospital for me. They'll see me and my tattoos, put it together in their heads, and call the police." 

You looked at the wound, then his worried face, then sighed, ".......Fine, but I'm gonna have to give you stitches-if this isn't closed properly, you'll bleed out-all over my good floor mats," you said in a half joking/serious manner as you led him to sit back down on the recliner as you went upsairs looking for your sewing kit.....

.......You were rummaging around in a drawer upstairs, marvelling to yourself for keeping such a weird calmness about you, when suddenly you heard the unmistakable sounds of Elsa's "Let It Go" from downstairs.

Finding the kit and heading back downstairs, you walked into the living room carefully to find Jongup folding your blankets and straightening up your things as he sang out with his phone,"Let it go~let it go~can't hold it back anymoooooore~"

You bit back a laugh as the blue haired, tattooed guy actually did a slow ballerina spin on one foot as he fluffed a pillow mid-twirl-

-but he quickly jumped as he saw you leaning against the wall, smiling, and he blushed as he said,".........I love this movie and the soundtrack, okay?! Don't judge me......."

You directed him to your TV as you said kindly, "Sit here and watch it-it's saved to my hard drive. Personally, I like the songs 'Fixer Upper' and 'In Summer' more."

Jongup looked at you with something akin to love/adoration/worship as you you left him to enter the kitchen, deciding to make a quick pasta and salad for-you looked at the clock and laughed, Breakfast at 3 in the afternoon.......I'm so healthy....

As you worked, Jongup let the movie played as he peered in form the side and shyly watched you as you worked, tossing a salad as you hummed along to Anna singing "For The First Time In Forever", and his heart thumped loudly in his chest as he blushed, ".......Is there anything I can help with?"

You smiled at him, charmed by his gentler personality, "Nope-I'm just about done now. Let's eat."

After you guys finished eating, you sat next to him as he lifted his shirt to reveal all of his side to you. The man's upper body was completely covered with tattoo art-a dragon there, a skull there, different phrases in old Latin and Korean dotted his back with roses intwertwining the sentences; a woman sniffed a rose as a lioness stalked her prey in the wilderness-you were impressed with the beauty of it all, but you quickly threaded the needle as Jongup hissed in pain, and dipping the needle in rubbing alcohol, you apologized to him-

-as you stabbed the soft part of his flesh, and Jongup gritted his teeth and let out a hiss as occasionally you came dangerously close to muscle, but you worked quickly, and in under a half hour you were finished, his side now sporting a neat row of black stitches.

He laughed as you held up a mirror for him to see his side, "They actually blend in well with my ink."

You laughed, "That's the spirit." He looked at you, and smiled,"........Do you remember when I fought Daehyun?"

You slapped your head as you groaned, "Why must you bring that up now, of all times?"

But the skinny guy quickly pulled off his shirt, laughing, "That very night, Yongguk and Himchan hyungnim gave me a punishment-and it's here."

Taking your hand, he brought it to the speace between his pectoral muscles-

-and he carefully moved your fingers over a neat,forest green cursive script etched forever into his body:

Never help your demons,but always listen to your teacher.

Underneath this script were your initials in a smooth finish, with a small apple tattooed next to it.

Your jaw dropped as Jongup laughed," At first, I hated it,but then.....then, you grew on me, and now, it's one of my favorites."

You were all kinds of shock as Jongup put on back his shirt and took your hands in his as he said shyly, "......Thank you for saving my life this morning."

He leaned in quickly and kissed you on the mouth innocently before pulling away, smiling, and you couldn't help but smile back as he stood up in time to see the finale of Frozen,   
"Aaaah~I love this part!!!"  
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................

8PM, SATURDAY

Himchan was on his way back over to your house to check up on things.... 

....After you had fainted, Daehyun lifted you up and laid you down on the couch properly,pulling off your robe and slippers smoothly, the tea forgotten as Zelo and Youngjae showing up a moment later at your door, guns and blades drawn.

Quickly, through gritted teeth as Himchan splashed more peroxide on his side, Jongup explained that the men had somehow followed you home after school,to kidnap you in the darkness of the early morning-and Jongup intervened, but they had kicked his phone out of his hand and he wasn't able to actually call for help,only managing to press his distress signal before the fight started. It was only the genius of Youngjae with his emergency tracking device that was able to find the tattooed one, and Daehyun and Himchan had just happened to be getting late night snacks in your area, and so were able to get to your house first.

As soon as he could, Himchan had gotten Yongguk on the phone, as Zelo tossed two dead bodies in his trunk while Youngjae and Daehyun grabbed the guy with the broken arm and hog-tied him,roughly putting him in another trunk, spraying the street with bleach water before pulling away as police sirens were heard in the distance.

....By the time the first police officer got there, your neighbors were busy explaining that they heard a fight down their street and heard a few cars pull away quickly, but since it was so dark, they couldn't positively identify any of the people involved.

The boss' voice was even deeper , as it was heavy with sleep with the time difference from his hotel room in Los Angeles-but as soon as he heard Himchan's low voice talking in a rush, he was up and alert by the time Himchan finished his report.

"And of the man that was still alive?"

"We have him still, in our loving, caring grasp. He is our......special guest."

"Do as you please with him, but make sure you leave some of him for me-I'll be on the first flight back as soon as this is over.Keep him alive until then- I have some things I'd like to tell him, personally."

"Yes, I understand.We will entertain him in the meantime."  
Himchan also told Yongguk, as well as Daehyun telling Zelo and Youngjae as they met at a secret place later, of your courage, coming out of your house to save Jongup's life. And all of the men's hearts warmed as they thought about your bravery that morning.

Himchan pulled up in a different car than the one he drove that morning, in order to throw off any wandering neighbors' eyes, and he quietly let himself into your place-

-only to be shocked as the two people he least likely thought to have gotten along, were bundled up together on the sofa, sleeping well, the heater going, as Frozen was on repeat in the living room, the DVD menu playing on loop.

Jongup's face was resting on your chest as your braids tickled his forehead, your arm was around his bare upper back as you held a bottle of nearly empty vodka with the other-

-there was a small pile of Cheetos' bags on the floor by your feet, and wrappers of other things on the floor.

.............There would be a time to fight, and a time of a war was soon approaching. More blood would be shed, and people would die. But, for now...

Himchan snickered as he took a few pictures and a short video, making sure the both of you were securely tucked in before he quietly took his leave...

.......The others are never gonna believe this without evidence......muahahahahaha.....


	10. Day ??? All Hands On Deck!!!

2:30 PM, Wednesday

You were sitting in your classroom with your Kindergarten kids during Art class-

-as you molded clay into animals, you couldn't help the feeling that you were being watched, but as you looked around at all the smiling faces, you merely shook it off and kept working.

5:50 PM

That evening was a special meeting after school in the auditorium, for faculty and some members of the board as you were to discuss the improvements needed and made thus far on the campus and educational programs.

Everything was going smoothly, as your principal proudly displayed a powerpoint of all the growth your team had accomplished over the course of the year....

One by one, each head chair of their department had to stand and give a short presentation on the things they did, the things they didn't, and they things they'd like to see in the near future....

2 hours into the meeting, you stepped out into the hallway to get a drink of water taking a paper cup from the dispenser and going over to the cooler-

-where a shadow moved quickly to your back,by the time you noticed it was far too late-

-as a gun pressed itself to the back of your head and someone said in an extremely scratchy voice, "Miss__________,Stay away from Bang Yongguk's crew-they are parasites. There   
will be a showdown in roughly 96 hours between them and their rival gang, the Strays.You will die if you get involved in it."

You took a step, but the person made a noise in their throat and pushed the back of your head once with the barrel, "I'd recommend not doing anything stupid."

The person tapped you again on your head as they said softly, "........Anyone they hold dear to them is considered bait when the Final Fight begins-STAY AWAY.Keep yourself safe."

Although you were terrified, and began calculating how many people could hear you if you made a commotion, you couldn't help but notice something-

-your terrorist friend was speaking to you in formal Korean, as if they respected you-

-it sounded like they were deliberately trying to disguise their voice, so....

-so that I won't recognize them-whomever's behind me, I know who they are because I've met them before!!!!!

You made to turn around again, but they flinched and shoved you to the ground, "!?! I said don't do that!!!"

As you let out a small cry and dropped to the floor, still somehow holding your little paper cup of water-

Daehyun appeared around the corner, eyes ablaze and double pistols drawn out, "Let her go, you demon."

Your eyes glanced up at the clock, and you almost laughed, By the grace of the gods, the matoki are coming in for class early.......

The person standing behind you let out a curse as they drew another gun and pointed it at him whilst keeping the first gun levelled on you-

-as their arm stuck out above your head, you could see long sleeves and a gloved hand holding the gun.

Daehyun stook a small step as the audience applauded for the speaker in the closed room next door, but the person behind you released their safeties, "Don't come any closer or else I'll shoot her-don't you love your precious teacher?"

Daehyun let out a string of curses as he growled out, "What do you want? Me? Take me, but leave her out of this-she's innocent!!!"

Yongguk and Himchan rounded the corner with their own weaponry and took up positions near Daehyun's shoulders, Yongguk's eyes narrowing as he saw the situation for himself-

Himchan's eyes were frigid as he said,"We have six guns here, you have two-you will lose fatally if you harm even one hair on her head...."

The person laughed, "Try me," and as your eyes fell on Daehyun's trembling lips, your stupid self did just that-

-you threw the cup of water directly up into the person's hooded face-

-in which he flinched and stepped back from you in surprise as Yongguk yelled, "Get down!!"

-You dove into a side room as the sound of gunfire filled the air-

-but this time, there were no silencers, and as soon as people in the auditorium heard the sounds of gunfire-

-there was complete and utter chaos as people screamed and stampeded out into the occupied hallway-

-in the midst of the confusion, you saw the hooded figure dodge shots being fired in his direction and pull the fire alarm-

-immediately added more to the scene as the sprinklers went off and people were doused with water raining down from the ceiling. You got to your feet as you saw Mr Choi and   
some of the elderly staff hurried out, downstairs to the first floor's main exit as you went in the opposite direction-

-going back into the hallway, trying to thread your way though the steady river of people exiting the building and trying to find out where they went-

-Zelo and Youngjae intercepted you at a hallway junction, breathing heavily, "Guys-what------"

But soon you guys flew sideways as the building shook-

-the hooded villain had tossed something into a classroom as they dashed by-

-and soon you realized something-the chemistry lab was ablaze!!!!

-As smoke and debris began filling the air, causing you three to cough-

-your eyes caught a glimpse of that hooded figure running towards the side exit of the school as you helped Youngjae to his feet-

-not looking back, you stumbled out after him in a smoky chase as Zelo choked out, "Noona-it's dangerous!!!"

\- you yelled back, "I'm sorry!!!Make sure everyone is out of here!!!"

You got outside and sucked in what felt like your first real breath in years as the hooded figure did the same a few feet away from you-

-you two raised your heads at the same time, and you said, "Hey!!!!You think you're gonna escape?!Just like that?!"

The person laughed, and said in a hoarse voice, "Noona, you just don't know when to quit, do you?.....That's what I love about you-you care too much."

And then they ran towards you, causing you to step back in surprise with a squeak-

-but the person didn't hurt you, or hit you or anything like that-

-rather, they did the complete opposite as Yongguk and the others ran out after him-

-The person pulled you towards their chest and hugged you tightly, as though they would never see you again-

-You gasp as they kissed you on the mouth tenderly,carefully and their hood fell back,".......JONGUP?!"

You didn't know if you were gonna laugh or cry as smoke filled the evening air; it was only the 7 of you on this side of the building as Zelo drew his gun, "..........Hyung.........why?"

Jongup spun you around so that you were his hostage, walking you backwards slowly as the others tried to approach you slowly, the water coming to Youngjae's eyes as he said slowly, "........Why are you doing this, Uppie-"

Jongup shouted, "Don't call me that-none of you come closer!!!" He pulled out a syringe filled with some sinister looking liquid and held it to your neck as Himchan yelled, "Don't do it-we'll kill you!!!"

Jongup let out a harsh laugh as he looked at Yongguk, who was closest," No, you won't-because you love me too much. Even though I have done some awful things to you, you take me back, each and everytime... even when I have committed the worst sin of all......"

Yongguk narrowed his eyes as Daehyun said,"Awful things......you don't mean..?!"

Jongup looked Daehyun directly in the eyes, "Yes-my precious hyung- I was the one who killed your fiancee."

A gasp went through the crowd-your voice included-as Daehyun dropped to his knees, the tears coming out his face in full force as he cried out, "Why, Jongup, why?!"

Jongup shook his head, "You fucking idiot-you never realized the whole time you guys were going out that she was an undercover officer!!!She was leaking all of our information to her boss in the 4 years you were together!!!"

Jongup let out another laugh as he began to walk backwards,"I'm switching sides, I've joined the other team!!They've got everything I've ever wanted-not this weak shit you call work!!"

He looked at each member with something akin to disgust as he continued,"I'm done being bossed around by a mute freak of a leader, a bossy diva second-in-charge, a fat ass, a geek who can't get laid, and an underling that is still scared of roaches!!!"

-with a start, your hand felt something cold at your side and realized that you two were at the passenger's side of Jongup's Mercedez. You pleaded to Jongup, "Honey, please don't do this. I'm asking you-no,begging you, to stop this madness while you still can."

Jongup looked at you with genuine sadness and said in a low voice, "Noona, I am so sorry for all of this. I never meant for you to get involved with us so deeply. Have faith,and no matter what happens:Remember.The.Apples."

Before you could ask him what the fuck he was talking about, multiple things happened-

-Youngjae let out a yell and threw something small and silver in your direction-

-Jongup hissed as now there was a small dart in his arm, and he dropped his gun as Yongguk dashed forward-

-but Jongup still had the syringe, and he jabbed this into your neck as he pulled out something from his pocket-

-the two of you were then surrounded by smoke as Himchan coughed out,"What the fuck-a smoke bomb?!"

You were left alone, suddenly dizzy as you dropped to the ground-

-Yongguk caught you as there was the sound of tires screeching-

-Youngjae fired at Jongup's car as he hauled ass outta town, "Get back here, you coward!!!"

But your hearing was going in an out, as you said sluggishly, "......Whadidhedotomehhh..."

Zelo hurried over as Yongguk took a gentle sniff of the needle, and closed it quickly, his face in a grimace as he said, "It's propholaphyn-a sleeping agent they use to calm down animals for surgery."

The police sirens and fire trucks were already closing in as Yongguk shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped you in, "Come on,_________-stay with us!!" He yelled back at Himchan, 

"We've got to keep her awake!!The first 2 hours of an accidental dose are the most critical!!!!"

-But it was so hard to focus on Yongguk's voice, as it was naturally calm and relaxing, even when he was panicked, and Zelo pleaded with you, "Noona-listen to my rap, it's just for you!!" His lips were moving fast, but at that point you just dropped your head to the side-

-where the last thing you saw was Daehyun's crying face before you completely blacked out.

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................

When you came to, it was to the sound of gentle beeping and soft voices. Opening your eyes, you were greeted by a pretty woman in a nurse's uniform, and as soon as your head turned she was at your side, and said in a friendly voice, "Easy there, darling-you've had a rough time."

You looked at her in confusion then tried to speak, but no noise came out-

-you had a temporary moment of panic as she hurried away and came back with water, which you sipped on gratefully before trying again, your voice coming out harsh and painfully,"........How long was I out for?"

The nurse checked your chart next to your bed, hanging off your IV, "Hmmmm.........roughly 2 and a half days."

You tried to sit up,"Whaaaaaat?!"

The nurse eased you back onto your bed,"Easy, easy~there you go," she said, as you laid back down slowly, and she said, "It is Saturday, 6pm, you are in the Temporary Care unit at the Seoul's People Of The World's Hospital. Your boss, I believe came back to visit-a Mr. Choi, I believe?"

You nodded, still stunned about your two-day nap, and she said kindly, "The hopsital explained your situation to him and he has agreed to let you have this upcoming week off. 

No other teachers were hurt from that situation-also some of the older staff had to be treated for asthma and other respiratory issues."

You nodded as she stood up, "You must be starving-I'll be right back with some yummy soup. The head chef is my aunt," she smiled at you, and you smiled back at her, "Thank you very much."

......................................................................................................................................................................................................................  
Dinner came and went, and although you slept for 60 hours straight, you found that you were still sleepy, so after trying your best to stay up and get back to your regular cicadian cycle, your body knew better-

-you closed your eyes for a nap around 8, planning to wake up after an hour-

-but the clock blinked 1:42AM the next time you opened your eyes, and you sighed at the irony.

Oh my goodness, what to do about Jongup....what to do about...?!

Your thoughts were interrupted as in the darkness to your right a shadow moved and you began to get nervous-

-only to let out a breath of relief as Yongguk revealed himself, ".................", you sighed as one-by-one, Himchan,Daehyun,Youngjae and Zelo revealed themselves, all wearing dark clothes and looking grim as you'd ever seen them,"..........Hey guys."

No one said anything back, and everyone was looking at various spots in the room-

-you realized that they were all avoiding eye contact with you, that they were planning to drop a bomb on you-

-sure enough, Yongguk flicked his lighter and began speaking in a low tone, "................We've decided that it's time to say goodbye."

You tried to sit up, but it was Himchan who held out his hand against your shoulder, holding you down, still not looking you in the eye as you said, "What the ever flipping fuck are you talking about-"

Yongguk carried on as if you hadn't commented, "We have a strict code of not letting outsiders interfere too deeply with our affairs, and you, Miss _____________, are in too deep. 

We sever our ties tonight. You are now more or a liability than an asset-you're holding us back from progression."

Youngjae stepped forward and said quietly, staring a hole into the sheet by your left knee,"I've already removed all trackers from your house and all of your electronic devices and cars-you're off the grid.Clean."

You looked at one face to another, as Himchan picked up in his baritone voice, "Of course, we are responsible for your hospital fees, seeing as one of our brothers-ah, I mean former members, placed you here."

You refused to believe it, even as Daehyun quickly turned his head to the side and you saw the water come up in Zelo's eyes, "Wait- as in, I'm no longer your teacher, your friend, or even....a person to you guys?"

Yongguk closed his eyes in that all too familiar pose as he said in an almost pleading tone,"Please, Miss_________- we are looking out for your best interests here!!!Don't make this   
any more embarassing on you than it has to be-"

You shouted, "I have feelings, too-you can't just cut me out when you fucking feel like it-Jongup hurt us all, me included. I need to know what the hell is going on with him!!"

Daehyun shouted back, "Don't you fucking mention his name!!!"

You flinched, as this was the first time you'd ever gotten into an argument with any of them, what says all of them at the same time, and Daehyun's poker face cracked as he reached out a hand to touch your crying face,trembling as he rushed your cheek tenderly, "Nonono, noona, please, don't cry, please don't be sad-"

And then your heart rate, jumped up by your yelling and stress, began to beep alarmingly, alerting the nurses's station that one of their patients was having a near panic attack-

Himchan said to the others, "We've got to go," as you reached out to squeeze his arm, and only then did he look at you with regret-

-but there was no time for that, and you watched everyone leave you quickly-

-as moments later, that same nurse from earlier came hurrying in to try to get you to calm down, taking deep breaths as she discreetly added more fluids to your IV drip-

-as you began to go back to sleep, somehow...

.......you heard Jongup's words in your head as you passed out: remember the apples.


	11. Day XXX-Revelation

9AM, Monday Morning

It was the first day out from the hospital, and you squinted into the bright, brisk sunlight of a chilly January day as you tried to get used to standing on your own two feet again.

The hospital staff kept you an extra day-Sunday-to run some tests on you and to make sure that the depressant was completely out of your system before they deemed you healthy again.

You couldn't stop thinking about the last time you saw the Matoki.It bothered you that they just cut you off like that. You knew that they wanted to protect you, but damn-why does it feel so unfair?

You closed your eyes as you threatened to cry, but then-

-as you reached into your purse for a napkin(Mr Choi had brought it when he came to visit you), something small fell out of your bag onto the pavement.

Bending down gingerly, curious as to what it was, you scooped it up-

-Only to almost drop it again as you realized it was a sticker of a green apple.

-All of your feelings came to you in a rush-fear, anger, and curiosity as you flipped the sticker over to see a small message on the back: Apple 1:noona's favorite subject.

Suddenly, you remembered what Jongup said,"The gangs will be meeting in about 96 hours for the big showdown...

You did some quick mental math, and gasped-the showdown would happen sometime tonight!!!!

You looked back at the little apple in your palm, then it hit like you like a sack of bricks-My favorite subject is Mathematics!!!!!

Jumping to the edge of the street, you hailed a taxi as fast as you could-

-jumping in the back, you quickly read off the address of your school, and the taxi driver, seeing a crazy looking foreign woman with red eyes and hair sticking out everywhere, made it there in record time.

Jumping out and paying him generously for a job well done(what was originally a 20 minute drive he did in 8-you clocked it), you dashed across the parking lot to your car, where you were sure you had left a stack of lesson plans on the back seat.

Opening up your car, you knelt on the back seat and began tossing papers this way and that, knocking over your folders until you got to your bright pink one with the words 'Mathematics' written across the top.

Slowing down some, you began going though each leaflet, whispering, "C'monc'monc'mon," underneath your breath-

-and you almost cheered as another sticker fell out from between some tests you recently graded.

Snatching it up, you flipped it over to read the script: our moment, our soundtrack.

Jongup's voice whispered to you from the back of your brain as you got into the driver's seat and closed your eyes, thinking for a moment-

-and you flew back up as you started the car, "Fucking Frozen!!!"

You peeled out of the parking lot and headed home-

-parking in the driveway, you hopped out and let yourself into your home, and walked straight to the living room, not even taking off your shoes as you began shuffling through your hard drive on your computer, clicking on the folder that held Frozen in it-

-your hand stopped as you saw that there was a new folder there, called Apple Orchard Harvest, and you noted the date it was created, "That's from that Saturday when the fight happened," you said as the tears did come, "Oh Jongup, you had this all planned out..."

Clicking the new folder, there was a video in it- you set it to play and sank down to your couch, leaning forward with your elbows on your knees as the screen opened up to a hand-Jongup set his self camera down as he sat across from the screen, "Hello-my name is Moon Jongup, and if you are watching this, noona-sunsengnim, hyungnim, and Zelo-ah, then you will know the truth."

Jongup bowed his head and took a moment before continuing, "..........I am sorry, for the things I will do, the things I have done, and the things that are happening now. I killed Daehyun's fiancee because she was a traitor and a spy- I have collected the evidence and saved the hyperlink on a secret file that I have on my person-I might leave it somewhere for you to find later."

"I do feel regret for doing this horrible action, but the only way for me to find redemption is for my own life to be sacrificed for the greater good," you gasped as Jongup opened his jacket, revealing a shit ton of C4 strapped to his chest, and the man let out a sad smile as he said, "I told you that I am being welcomed into The Strays- I told them that I would lure you guys to the showdown tonight by killing noona-sunsengnim and causing you guys to seek vengeance-but in reality there will be no fight, because I will stand in the middle of their gang-and detonate myself, taking them out completely."

You began to cry as Jongup began to water up, "By this time, I have said some awful things:none of it is true, I swear!!!Yongguk-hyung, you are the coolest guy I know. I've always looked up to you for taking me in, with all of my awkwardness and quirks. You've always given me advice and looked out for me, since my real father did not."

"Himchan umma, you are just that-I think in a past life you most have been some saint, because you scold me, but give me the medicine as well-you were always there when we got sick, making us things to feel better, and you saved me when I accidentally poisoned myself trying to give myself my first homemade tattoo. Daehyun hyung," Jongup's voice cracked," I am so sorry, I am sorry for everything I've done to you. I wanted you happy,but she......she was poison to your joy.There were times I was jealous of the happy couple, and I think that also drove me to do what I did without consideration to you. I took away your happiness-I hope you can forgive me in death."

"Youngjae hyung," here Jongup laughed through his tears, ".......Hyung, I love you, but you are such a nerd!!!You really need to get out more-put down all of those screens, for someone so genius you can't figure out why you're eyesight is going so quickly?!Geez....."

"Zelo-ah,no, your real name- Junhong. Our giant maknae, my rapidly-blinking baby brother. You will go on to do some incredible things in your life-remember, when we used to sit outside on the roof and talk about our dreams of becoming a travelling K-Pop act? you rapping, me dancing? Well, it looks like you'll have to go solo this time, buddy-I'll be watching you from , well, wherever people like me go.Be the hiphop star you were meant to be."

Jongup saluted the video, "And of course, to my noona-sunsengnim, ___________. I still remember the first day we met-and look at how we ended up. Even though we've only known each other for half a year, I feel like I've known you all my life. I love you-please, even though they will push you away, look out for them, because I'll always remember:Never help your demons;but always listen to your teacher." Jongup got up and turned off the camera,blowing a kiss before the screen winked off, and you just sat there and wept, for everyone and everything, the pain of the world, and the burdens of those close to you.

That whole time you were scared of Jongup, watching him in your peripherals in class as he twirled his blade and met your genuine questions with sarcasm, when he brushed the others away at times-it's because he knew he was going to do this-he wanted everyone to hate him, all the way to the end.

You sat there, and now the others have gone, and they won't even get to see this-they'll just go in guns blazing.........damn it!!!

You punched a cushion in anguish, slamming your fists down a few times until you gathered yourself.Wiping your eyes you looked at the clock-and was shocked to see that it was almost 1pm-shit......

When Yongguk said he was severing ties-he wasn't kidding-

-all traces of them were completely gone from your phone, your house, your car, everywhere-

-You had no phone number to call them at, no address to meet them, no social media account to follow them all: it was as if you guys had never even met-

-but you stood up straight, "No.......I won't let it end like this. They need to know the truth. They need to know!!!"

You began to pace up and down your house;starting form the living room and making your way in rounds in the kitchen and coming back to the living room, you thought long and hard about what your next move would be-

-and then you made up your mind. Crossing over to your computer and copying Jongup's confession onto a USB, you tucked it safely into your bra and grabbed your purse, heading back out the door and marching to your car, gripping the steering wheel as you drove yourself back into town....

.........And back to the hospital, where you walked back upstairs to Temporary Care, looking for that kind nurse who helped you earlier, "Aaaah Miss__________," you turned around and saw her again," It's nice to see you again," you handed her a box of cupcakes you picked up on the way over, smiling, "This is a token of my appreciation, thanks for all of your help."

The nurse-Hyerin, as you came to discover, was pleasantly shocked as she opened the box to see all of the delicious goodies looking back at her, "This is so wonderful~thank you!!"

You looked left and right as she set the box down at the nurse's station, and in a quieter voice, you said to her, "I hate to do this to you, but I do need your help."

Hyerin was all ears as she bit into a cupcake and closed her eyes,"Mmmm, of course-are you in pain?" You laughed, "Nope I'm fine-I'm actually here about the bill-my bill."

Hyerin laughed, "Ah yes-but it was already settled-by a man with striking black eyes and a nice leather jacket." You cheered inwardly to yourself as you thought, Himchan, you fashionable bastard.

"Yes, he's my friend, but I want to pay my own bill-female independence, girl power sorta thing- so can you refund the money back to him?Anyway you can do that for me?"

Hyerin's face dropped as she looked at you apologetically, "I'm sorry honey, but the hospital has already accepted the transaction in full-there's no way to refund it now."

You sighed, and tried a different approach, "I understand, it would just be so nice to refund it properly to him and get his address off the router to sort everything out."

Hyerin loked at you, then thought about it,".......Hmm......well ,actually, there is one thing we could try."

You perked up as she continued, "We have a policy here-if the card or credit is no longer good, we have the address of which the card is saved under locked into our system for 48 hours before we clear it. His info-Himchan, you said?-might still be here," she crossed over to a computer and logged in, typing away efficiently as you fought the urge to turn a backflip-

Ping!!!

The screen lit up as Hyerin wrote something down on a post-it for you, "Here you go-this is the address.I hope it helps!!"

You hugged her quickly, almost crying, "Thank you so much Hyerin-enjoy the rest of the cupcakes!!!" you ran out, leaving her laughing at your weirdness-

Typing in the address she had written down into your GPS, you drove into the city, following the directions into a part of town that you were not so familiar with-

-and the GPS dropepd you off in front of a dark looking nightclub called Le Noir, with midnight black and purple themes artfully placed on the front doors.

-You parked your car and approached the door, then hesitated as doubt hit you-

-what if they're not there? what if they are, and they decide to shoot me? Technically, I am trespassing......they don't want anything to do with me anymore....

-you closed your eyes and shook your head, before reaching out and pulling open the door-

-revealing a completely empty bar lounge.

You stepped in, closing the door carefully behind you, you walked into the chic room, with the bright neon periwinkle and lavender lights above your head as soft music played from a jukebox on the opposite wall.

You examined your surroundings as you walked in slowly. There was a pool table in the corner, next to a mini karaoke station and a darts wall and skeeball tournament completely occupied one wall. The place was nice, the colors subtle but effective at the same time, and you sighed as you couldn't hear nor see signs of life-

-turning you were about to leave, when you noticed something on the bar-

-a half cup of scotch, the ice still fresh inside. Someone's still here!!!!!

You suddenly began looking around at the walls, feeling like there was something missing-

-and your eyes happened to fall on a section of the wall that looked a little darker than its brethren-

-and you laughed as you realized that this was a hidden door,.....wow....I thought these only happened in movies....but here we are.

Feeling encouraged, you began looking for a hidden switch or some secret lever to move the wall-

-going over to each round table, you moved each centerpiece looking for a swtich, but nothing-

-moving bottles around at the bar produced the same effect of nothingness-

-the jukebox was firmly attached to the wall, same as the darts board-

-and you plopped down in a seat, tired.Fuck....this is tougher than it looks....

Your eyes checked the time, and you jumped-Fuck-it's 4 already?! You panicked as you tried to think, and then, your eyes fell back on the jukebox,......if I can't go in there, then I'll make them come out here.

Going over to the jukebox and popping in a coin, you cycled through the music until you found the most annoying song they had in their selection-which happened to be Super Junior's 'Sorry Sorry' (A/N:I love this song, I just picked it because it has an easy chorus for me to type hahaha).

You turned up the volume as far as your ears could take it, and as the beat started you began to dance around the room, twirling as the first verse began, actually picking up some darts and letting a flew fly in the board as you waited for the chorus to kick in-and when it did you were fucking ready-

-opening your mouth, not giving a fuck, you began to sing as loud as you could over the 13 boys of SUJU-

Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry  
Naega naega naega munjuh  
Nehgae nehgae nehgae bbajuh bbajuh bbajuh party baby  
Shawty Shawty Shawty Shawty  
Noonee booshuh booshuh booshuh  
Soomee makhyuh makhyuh makhyuh  
Naega micheo micheo baby!!!!!

-you even began to beat on the tables next to you in rhythm to the sound, getting really hyped up for the 2nd chorus, screaming this time:

SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY  
NAEGA NAEGA NAEGA MUNJUH-

And your hard work was paid off as there was a small rumble; the wall was moving out, and out hurried the 5 people you wanted to see all day-

-you quickly put up your hands as Himchan had drawn his pistol, but he lowered it when he saw who his guest was-

-Youngjae's jaw dropped as you smirked, waving your post-it triumphantly, "You're not the only person who can think under pressure, Youngjae."

-everyone stared at you as Zelo stuttered out, "..........How did you even...?"

Daehyun couldn't even blink as you waved your hand casually, "I had help from a connection of my own."

"......"

"..............."

"................................................................................."

Yongguk was the first to recover as he stepped towards you-

-grabbing your arm, he moved you from your leaning position against the bar to stand you up, and you struggled against his strength as he began moving in the direction of the exit," You are going home. I told you, we are done with you!!!What do I have to do to keep you out of our lives-shoot you?!-ugh!!"

-you were tired of shit, everyone's shit, the world's shit-

-and you let him see it, or rather, feel it-

-as you brought your knee up directly into his groin and his, ahem, masculine area-

-and the leader fell to his knees, clutching his Mr. Happy as Youngjae winced in sympathy pain, and you turned to everyone else in the room as you pulled out your USB from your bra and held it up, "You need to watch this-now."

Daehyun trembled, but crossed his arms and looked at you meanly, "Why? It's gonna mess with our heads and get us softened before tonight-"

-that was as far as he got, before you crossed the room and slapped him sharply, and now you were screaming at everyone as Daehyun held a now throbbing cheek in shock, 

"Would I have come all this fucking way to find some fucking gangsters if I didn't think it was fucking serious?!It's from Jongup, goddamnit, and it's the truth!!!!!"

Youngjae was smarter than his hyungs-

-he saw the fire in your eyes and dashed off for his computer as Himchan looked at you with cautious eyes, torn between laughing, hugging you or locking you up somewhere, 

"Noona sunsengnim........"

You held up one finger, "Don't you fucking start with me, Himchan. Sit down and shut up."

Zelo helped Yongguk into a sitting up position as Youngjae took the USB from you and plugged up, starting the video to load as you straightened up, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go outside and find a fucking sandwich shop because I'm starving." Also, because I am not strong enough to watch Jongup's message a second time around....

-marching outside, you took a deep breath before you walked down the street to pick up some sandwiches, and when you returned to the lounge-

-there wasn't a dry eye, as everyone was sitting down, feeling the same emotions-angst, guilt, anger- you sighed, and set the sandwiches down as Yongguk trembled and Zelo wept, "..........Oh hyung......my brave hyung..."

You closed your eyes and gathered the youngest male into your arms and held him as Youngjae's eyes were so moist, "How could I have not seen the signs...?"

Himchan coughed awkwardly as he tried to speak without hiccuping, "It's not your fault Youngjae-ah, but mine-"

You snapped, "Oh, shut the hell up-it's no one's direct fault, alright?" Everyone flinched as you hit the counter near you, "Now that you know, what are you going to do about it?"

You looked pointedly at Daehyun, who was now looking at the floor in embarrassment, overwhelmed with everything and anything, and he glanced at you quickly before he set his jaw stubbornly and refused to speak, and you shrugged, unwrapping your sandwich and beginning to eat as no one said anything for a while,".......Fine,whatever,wallow in your own guilt for a while. Let it stew for a bit........................".

Finally, after years of silence, Yongguk made his way over to you as you were sitting at the bar, enjoying your steak sandwich you fucking earned and you turned away from him as he sat next to you awkwardly,clearing his throat, and you got up to get yourself a drink-you'd already finished the scotch on the counter, and had the urge for another-

-when he reached out and grabbed your arm as you passed by-

-and you snatched it back away, "No- don't touch me. You don't get to touch me now, not after hurting me," your voice broke as he stood up and walked towards you,"Not after   
the things you said," he kept coming,step by step, and you backed up slowly as he looked at you with the water in his eyes, "Don't look at me like that, you.....you...-"

Himchan provided from somewhere behind you, ".........Motherfucking asshole bitch jerk?"

You laughed through your tears as you turned to face him, "I didn't teach you that-not in my class."

Himchan shrugged, chuckling, "I listen to hiphop,yo-naw mean?"

He threw up the 'peace' sign weirdly, and you laughed while swiping your hands quickly across your eyes and sniffing hard-

-and Yongguk's arms encircled you gently from behind as he squeezed you to his chest; you tried to elbow him away, but he was stubborn and wouldn't let go. You shivered in his comforting heat as he laid his head on your back and said,".......................I hurt you deeply." "You damn right you did." You squirmed, but he only tightened his muscles, and you sighed in defeat.Yongguk pressed his nose into your neck before pulling away,"...........I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for your pain, __________. I realize now that I should've done the opposite-I shoud've brought you closer to us, and never let go.How can I make it better? Tell me, ____________."

You stepped away from him, "First things first-by going and saving your crazy brother. We'll work out the fine details later." You looked around the room at everyone, "All of you-go get back Jongup. Teacher's orders." Zelo nodded, "It's been lonely here without him.......I know we can do it!!!!" You looked at Daehyun, who looked at the floor, and you walked over to him as he quietly said,".......I don't know if I can forgive him just yet, but.....but-I am curious to know how he discovered those things about my fiancee." You patted his back, "Well, go ask him in person-when you two talk tonight." Himchan stood up, "We need a plan, but this time...this time, noona....you really can't be around for this. It will get ugly."

Daehyun said suddenly, "And we can't have any witnesses to our plans, no snitches, of course.Gotta tie up those loose ends."

Zelo said,impressed, "Gosh, our noona is such a bad ass-she did all of this just for us."

You stepped back nervously as everyone's eyes were now on you with sinister looks-even Zelo's eyes had a kind of evil glint in them as you backed up,"W.......what will you guys do to me?" Himchan's voice was full of love as he said, taking a step towards you,drawing his gun and putting his silencer on it slowly, "Noona, our beautiful, brave, kinda stupid noona." You shouted at that last part,"Hey I am not-" but Youngjae was behind you-

-Himchan and the others chuckled as he scared you right into the trap- a cloth appeared in front of your face, and you struggled as Youngjae pressed it against your nose and mouth,"Oh noona-we love you!!!!!" You took a good whiff of the chloroform-and you dropped like a sack of potatoes-

-Fuck you guys-but, I love you guys...........


	12. EPILOGUE

Sometime Later,A Non-Specific Day In July Of The Next Year

You sighed as you began putting up posters for the new school year, starting in a month or so. Even though you were fully recovered, un-traumatized, and cleared by the State   
Department Of Health To work again, you couldn't stop thinking about the Matoki......

It had been 16 months since you'd last heard or seen of the Matoki, and you wondered how they were all doing, if they were even alive, if they ever got back with Jongup....

You sighed as you had a flashback to the last thing you remembered, 16 months ago...

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

-When you came to, you were laying on the bed in the hospital again, and Hyerin was at your side, "Oh, thank goodness you're alright!"

Looking at her in confusion, you asked,"What the hell happened?"

She shrugged, looking just as confused as you were, "I honestly don't know-yesterday, I was on my cigarette break when a car pulled up and a tan man with a strong Busan accent carried you out of the backseat like a bride-except for you were unconscious and not breathing," you gasped as she tapped her chin, looking up at the ceiling,"There was another nerdy looking guy with him, muttering about 'using too much' of something and then the third guy, one with a really deep voice and cold eyes, said to me,'Take care of her, please'-and then they drove off, leaving you in my arms."

You moaned as she laughed,".....You've got some interesting friends there, __________." You mumbled to yourself, "....At least they didn't leave me on the streets in an alley somewhere."

Hyerin laughed, and pointed to the table next to you, "Nah, I think they're just shy sweethearts, is all." Turning your head, you notice a big basket of the most gorgeous flowers you'd ever seen in your life, complete with a stuffed white rabbit and a card. In the card said five simple words:Dearest Noona-we did it."

Hyerin smiled as she said, those came just a few hours ago by that guy in the leather jacket and a really tall, skinny guy who looks like a giant baby. You were still pretty out of it though."

You squeezed her hand, "Thanks for being here, Hyerin," and she squeezed back-

-suddenly, two police officers appeared at your door, "Are you Miss ________________by any chance?"

Hyerin stood up slowly as you said that you were, and they bowed politely," My name is Officer Yen, and this is my subordinate, Wang-we'd like to ask you a few questions about some.......... associates, of yours...."

.......As it turns out, while you were unconscious for a day and a half, there was a massive shootout at the pier where major import ships were. This resulted in many wounded, a few dead, and a massive explosion that destroyed the property of Miss Shim Kang Yin, propietor of a famous magazine, and causing her stocks to drop as she struggled to find money to cover the damage.

While you tried your best to answer the officers questions with a straight face, when the officer got to that part, you burst out laughing, and they looked at each other in confusion as you stuggled to get back under control,"I'm so sorry, where were we?"

They gave you a lie detector test, which you passed with flying colors because you were literally drugged at the time of the crime:

"No, I haven't been in contact with Bang Yongguk or any of his subordinates."

"No, I haven't accepted any bribes or things like to move my kids up a grade early."

"Yes, I have a valid working license and a place of my own."

"No, I have never taken drugs before in my life-unless Nyquil and Tylenol count."

They presented the results of this to a local judge, who then cleared you completely, and sent you on your way form the courthouse a few days later as Kang Yin stormed out with her bodyguards-angry that she couldn't sue you for anything...

...........Ever since that time, you hadn't heard anything form the Matoki. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, months to seasons.

Holidays came and went; your class graduated from Kindergarten, leaving you with a whole new batch of children to raise from little seeds into sprouts all over again.

You laughed as you thought back to what Zelo had said, "Our noona is such a bad ass now...."

It was true-since hanging out with the Matoki nobody and nothing ever scared you anymore. You could literally walk down dark shady alleys and cause other creeps to back down in fear because of the way you carried yourself, of the things you've seen.

Hyerin and you hung out a lot, she was funny and a great friend, and an even better distraction from the pain you felt in your heart as the time went by.......

You tried to reflect on the positives of all of this:

"I'm alive and well, I have a job, a roof over my head, food on the table, a friend who cares about me, that's good right?"

You sighed as you and Hyerin sat on the beachside together....

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

You finished putting up the last of the posters and decorations, and your Korean teacher walked in with a stack of papers for you to sign, just as you thought your work was over, ugh.......let's just get this over with.

Coming off the stool you were using, you sat down, pulled out a pen and got started on the mini-mountain range of stationary in front of you.

You were on what you were sure was your 157th piece of paper to sign, your wrist cramping up in the worst kind of way, when you felt a presence in the room, and without looking up you said kindly, "I'm sorry Miss Kim-I only have a few left to go-I'll bring them to your room later."

There was a pause, as someone said hesitatingly,"...............I'm not even a woman.Do you need glasses now?"

Your head shot up so fast your neck cricked and you got whiplash-

-and there, in the flesh, was Jongup, smiling shyly and holding a simple bouquet of flowers as he said, "Hello, _____________ noona.Long time no see."

You couldn't even speak as Himchan suddenly appeared with wine, whacking him over the head as he said, "Jongup-ah~you came in too early and ruined the surprise!!!" Jongup ducked his head as he said, "Ah?I did? I'm so sorry!!"

You could choke out,".......H-H-Himchan.....J-Jongup........."

Daehyun and Youngjae jumped into the classroom at the same time, the former holding a massive cake and the latter holding champagne, "Ta-dah!!!!Oh wait, where's Zelo?" 

Daehyun slapped his forehead as Youngjae slapped his tablet in frustration, "For all the times the music should stop working...ugh..."

You could only blink and gape as Zelo sprinted in, holding roses of multiple colors and box of chocolates bigger than him, "I was locking up my car-how could you guys start without me?!"

His eyes held betrayal as Himchan shoved Jongup, "It's all his fault!!!"

You opened your mouth , but all that came out was a squeak-

-and then Yongguk showed up, in the same teddy bear sweater that first night when you two met, and immediately the others straightened up and lined up as he bowed to you,"..............Hello, noona sunsengnim."

You finally let out a high-pitched,"What the fuckery fuck happened to you guys?I thought you all were dead...?"

You sank down in your chair as Jongup began the story, "..............They intercepted me before I met with the leader of The Strays-I don't know how they found me, but they did it-and they told me that you brought them the video I made," he looked at his brothers with humbleness and love as Daehyun shyly squeezed his shoulder,"We.......made peace with each other, and then The Strays showed up and saw us talking..."

Youngjae picked up from that point, "Noona-sunsengnim, the men that attacked you, came from that gang-Yongguk hyung was away on a business trip when we did our....interrogation.....but once we pointed out the main leader involved in the attack-"

Zelo chimed in, "Boss lost it-he went on a destructive rampage, it was so badass!!The man that wanted you hurt-well, let's just say that he can't have kids, or pick up chopsticks anymore-with either hand!!!"

You looked at Yongguk in surprise, who blushed and modestly looked away as Himchan said, "It's just as the officers who interrogated you said, noona- there were wounded, there were deaths, and then damage to a certain snob's docking bay of boats," Himchan brought up a fist, "I heard from Yongguk what Kang Yin said about you that night-I took vengeance for you properly." 

Daehyun leaned against Youngjae as he looked at you with some regret, "Of course, we had to lay low-the police swarmed our known locations, hang out spots ,even your school-we took a group vacation and left the country for a few months until the heat died down. We couldn't contact anyone without fear of the police tapping into the lines....But....we're here now......and so......."

You folded your arms as all the emotions you went to therapy for to get rid off came back in full-

You crossed your arms as anger, happiness, joy, sadness,and upset coursed through your veins at the same time,".................So now what? Your vacation wasn't for that long-it's been 16 months, you jerks-what do you want from me now?My heart? Too late, it's shut down temporarily, closed for repairs," you wiped your face as Youngjae swallowed hard and looked at the ground, Zelo scratching his head awkwardly and Jongup coughed.

"You drugged me after I did all that shit to come find you, and now.....this is your idea of a follow-up?....Oh my goodness," you wiped away more tears as you said, "16 months, 16 months, I thought you guys were dead, I thought...I thought-"

You stuck out a hand and swept off the whole damn stack of papers in your anguish, "I grieved for you, you bastards...!!!I loved you all, my beloved students....!!!!"

Yongguk closed the distance between the two of you and embraced you, and you punched his chest as he held you close, and after awhile of struggling , you cried into his chest as he whispered, "We're sorry, we're so sorry," over and over into your ear.

"..................We are here now, noona, we are here to make it all better, we are here to fix things, and to put you back together,the same way you put us back together. We're here, to be your students again."

Yongguk patted you back and carefully wiped your face off as he sat you back down at your desk, and he pulled out a heavy silk bag full of cash and a bunny sticker as he knelt and read from a folded piece of paper in his best formal voice, "To Whom It May Concern, we are thoroughly satisifed with the courses that Miss__________ sunsengnim has provided us, and we are very much interested in renewing a few more semesters of Business English with the talented professional," his eyes crinkled as he said,"as we understand, this time the sessions will be longer and more taxing on sunsengnim, so we have provided more compensation for her hard work-as well as longer vacations in her contract and more sick days, all compensated by us, of course."

You closed your eyes as Jongup came up behind you and hugged you, "You saved me twice, noona-make the third one the charm."

Zelo held up the chocolates, grinning and letting his dimples showing, "I wanna write lyrics for my raps-you've gotta help me!!!"

Daehyun blushed as he said, "........I know a great spot by the river where we could catch up and have dinner-ALONE," as Youngjae held up his phone and smiled," I can show you how to track the latest stocks, with the best returns!!!"

Himchan only crossed his arms and grinned," Of course, I will keep you up-to-date on all the latest trends-and help you get rid of anyone you don't like."

Yongguk looked into your face as he flicked his lighter, "Well, what do you say? Can you find it somewhere in your heart to let us in again? You never left ours.Take us back-we need you. We want you. You.......complete us."

You looked at everyone's hopeful faces and said.........

 

 

*THE END!!!!!!*


End file.
